Rude Awakening
by Sapphirina
Summary: .::After KH2, sequel to the Ability to Love::. After twenty years, the reincarnated Demyx and Alana are about to meet Axel, about to live regular lives. However, to do so, they have to face a new enemy. AxelxOC, DemyxxOC
1. Chapter 1: The Set Up

**A/N: I rewrote Chapter 1 because I know it was boring, too long, and dragged out. Which is why I (miraculously) combined most of Chapters 1 and 2. Of course, I haven't replaced Chapter 2 yet with the Conclusion to this chapter. So if you just clicked on this story, you probably should wait for Chapter 2. If you can't, go on to Chapter 3.**

**I will put the following once because I'm lazy and I'll know I'd forget.**

**DISCLAIMER: Kingdom Hearts, its characters, and anything else associated with it belongs to Square Enix and Disney. But I do own Alana and any other original characters. And the lyrics. You'll know when you see them.**

**CHAPTER 1**

**:The Set Up:**

_20 years ago . . ._

In an area not far from the Great Maw, a black portal appeared and Axel stepped out. It closed behind him as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cracked, blue cube. He stared at the swirling black mist inside, remembering what had happened over a year ago.

Axel sighed. "I wonder where you are now? Probably already reincarnated. The redhead unconsciously kicked a stone. "If only things could have happened differently back then, maybe . . ." His voice trailed off as he scratched his head and looked around, slipping the cube into his pocket.

"No point in worrying about it now. Not with Saix after me."

Axel stared at Crystal Fissure and believed that someone was watching him in secrecy. The redhead was about to check it out when a portal appeared in front. Saix came ouit, his claymore in his hand.

"You really are wearing our patience thin, Number Eight," Saix stated, his voice voided of emotion. "Telling the Keyblade wielder our plan. How would that help you in any way?"

Axel smirked and his chakram appeared in his hands; he had a feeling this was going to lead to a fight. However he never let the worry show on his face. "I'm just curious if the Organization will fall," he explained, the smug smirk still on his face.

Saix's expression remained unchanged. "Revenge for your beloved?"

Out of anger, Axel threw the burning chakram at Saix and Number Seven dodged them with ease. Then Saix charged at the redhead and swung his claymore at him. Axel jumped back in a zig-zag pattern, avoiding each swing. He was worried because he noticed how Saix's swings were getting quicker. Axel glanced behind him and saw himself by the edge. Quickly he blocked the claymore with his chakram.

"What's wrong, Axel? Afraid to die?"Before Axel could say his comeback, the Luna Diviner pushed the claymore with his foot, successfully sending Axel over the edge.

"Shit!" Axel said. His chakram disappeared and he grabbed a ledge. He glanced down and saw the blue cube falling down below. _Damn it_, he thought and looked back up. Saix approached the end and prepared for an attack. Axel released his grip and fell into a portal.

Saix narrowed his golden eyes. "He escaped again."

* * *

_Present . . ._

Alana held her college textbooks in her arms. She would have dropped them off in her dorms right after classes but her blonde friend was in a rush. She knew that he really wanted to see how great was his substitute drummer. Considering that the gig was only two days now and that the official drummer, Rob, had left due to a family death. Now that it crossed her mind, she had no idea who the new drummer was. "Hey, Myde," she said, her eyes staring at the ground as she walked.

The blonde looked at her with his blue eyes. "Yeah?"

"Who's the new drummer?" Alana asked.

"Some guy named Ale."

"Hm . . . Never heard of him."

"Really? He was in our Physics class last year."

Alana sighed. "Myde, that was a big class. I bet you never talked to guy. I'm surprised that you know he even play drums."

Myde scratched his head. "Actually, I never heard him play. The only reason he's playing with us is because Rob talked to Zees about a replacement and Zees suggested Ale. And Zees is not a stupid guy."

"You've never seen Zees in Calculus." Her slate eyes locked with his blue ones. They had stopped outside a garage door. Alana looked away from the blonde and knocked on the garage. Five seconds later, it lifted and Alana came face to face with a redhead. It was not the person who lived at the house.

"I assume you're Ale," she muttered, examining him from head to toe, taking in his emerald eyes and spike- up, flaming red hair. _He kinda looks familiar,_ she thought to herself. She peered around the redhead and saw the bass guitarist hooking everything up. He was the one who lived there. "Hey, Sai."

Sai looked back. "Alana! How are you? Myde, you're late to practice."

Myde faked a groan. "Oh, not even a hello? Do you know how rude that is?" Myde said as he walked into the garage. Alana followed him in and Ale closed the garage door.

* * *

A shadowy figure was standing in a tree. It saw when Alana and Myde walked into a garage belonging to a yellow house. He had been following the two the moment they had left campus. Now they had led him here, to Axel, who was now Ale. His plan was in action; the three test subjects, as he sometimes called them, could interact and hopefully 'reawaken'.

"How much longer?" He asked himself.

There was a rustle in the leaves and blue-haired girl jumped down next to him. "Shadow!" The girl cried in joy. She rushed toward him and tried to give Shadow a hug. However, she ran through him and almost collided with the tree trunk. "You did that on purpose," she muttered, her yellow eyes in slits.

"Stop calling me that pet name, Bane," he muttered. Though there was no mouth, the words were still audible.

Bane smirked. "Why? You prefer your real name over the one I came with?"

Shadow ignored her and changed the subject. "I suppose you're here to take over my shift, right? Because Artemis told you?"

"Yep," she replied. "Oh! Then maybe I can finally meet Demyx and introduce myself!"

"You do that," he said as shrunk into the shadows and left.

Bane sighed and sat on the tree branch alone. She realized that she had to wait for them to leave that house. All three of them, though the girl was of no importance to Bane. Her round ears wiggled as she picked up a sound nearby. She glanced to her left and saw a bird chirping. At first she tried to ignore it but then that soon became impossible. Her blue tail lashed out at it and missed. Yet that was enough to scare the bird away. "Stupid bird," she muttered.

* * *

"_All the lies that you keep on telling me_

_Keep ripping me in two, thought you knew_

_What the hell were you thinking_

_When you looked me in the eye_

_Tell me a lie_

_Thinking I can't see through you . . ."_

Alana listened to Myde sing into the microphone while he played his electric guitar. She was thankful that he wasn't singing loud or in an obnoxious sort of way. She was able to sit still and drown herself in the song. Myde played a riff and Sai countered that one with his own on the bass guitar. Myde sang the chorus one more time before cutting it off.

"So, what do you think?" Myde asked, putting his guitar on the table. "Good? Bad? Needs work?"

"Second verse needs work. Ale was, once again, off during the chorus. And Sai played the wrong note."

Myde sighed. "From the top."

Ale struck the crash cymbals hard and got everyone's attention. "Can we call it a night?" He asked. "We've been practicing for three hours straight already." He glanced down at his watch and saw it was past eight. "More than three," he corrected himself.

Myde sighed. "Fine. But we need to practice tomorrow."

"Sure," Sai said. "Whatever you say. I don't care if we have practice tomorrow. I just wanted today's to be over." Sai placed his bass guitar on its stand and walked over to the garage door. He pressed the switch next to it and the door lifted up. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"See ya," Myde said as he walked out. Ale gave Sai one of those typical-guy handshakes, muttered a 'bye', and walked out. Alana waved goodbye. After they all stepped outside, he closed the garage door behind them.

Alana was surprised to see the sun was just setting. Even though Ale said they had spent over three hours in the stuffy garage, it seemed early to her. Her slates eyes landed on the guys and saw they were waiting for her. She hurried up to be by their sides.

Bastion University was not far from Sai's house; it was a little over a mile away. Alana and Myde, though they were residents of Radiant Garden, lived in the dorms. Ale did as well since he resided in Transverse Town. Though the walk wasn't a long distance, it usually took twenty minutes to get there. And to remain silent for the whole trip was not an easy task. After ten minutes of silence, Ale felt like he couldn't take it anymore and had to say something.

"Alana?"

The dark-haired girl looked back at him, waiting for something to be said.

"You're very quiet," Ale commented. He waited for Alana to say something but she ignored. He quickly moved ahead of her and walked backward to see her face. "I didn't mean anything offensive by it," he said. "You hardly said anything in practice."

" . . . I'm not much of a people's person," she finally replied.

"Once she gets to know you, she'll talk more," Myde stated, catching the redhead's attention.

"So she's not mad at me?" Ale suddenly asked.

Alana's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would I be?"

"I don't know," the redhead said, his voice holding a tinge of sarcasm. " 'Attacking' me, then ignoring me?"

"I was being honest," Alana muttered, her pace a little faster now. "You were off during the chorus." She tried to walk around him but Ale's arm blocked her path. She looked up at him as he looked down at her.

Ale, without realizing it, smirked. "That's the kind of attitude that pushes people away."

"Makes life easier for me."

"Um . . ." Myde had stopped walking because the other two had. Now he wondered what he should do. Should he intervene or let them work it out themselves? He couldn't tell if Ale was being serious. He could easily see that Alana was agitated. He sighed while he tried to make a decision. Out of nowhere, there was a tap on his shoulders and Myde yelped.

Ale and Alana looked back at Myde.

There was a girl standing in a miniskirt, a sweater, and boots. It wasn't the outfit that caught their attention but the blue hair, yellow eyes, animal ears and tail, and the massive hands that had claws. The strange girl stuck her hand out, expecting a handshake from Myde. "I'm Bane----don't worry, I know who you are. You're Demyx."

"I think you got the wrong guy," Myde said, his eyes fixated on the ears.

"No. You're Demyx and he," she pointed to Ale, "is Axel. The problem is you haven't remembered yet."

**A/N: That's it for now. Maybe in a few days I'll replace Chapter 2 with the conclusion of this. That's it for now. Till then.**


	2. Chapter 2: Bane

**A/N: Whew. I finally replaced this chapter. Now I'm wondering if I should rewrite Chapters 3 and 4. Anyway, here it is.**

**CHAPTER 2**

**:Bane:**

"I think you got the wrong guy," Myde said, his eyes fixated on the ears, wondering if they were authentic.

Bane shook her head. "No. You're Demyx and he," she pointed to Ale, "is Axel. The problem is you haven't remembered yet."

Suddenly she yawned. The blue-haired girl stretched her arms over her head and arched her back, successfully cracking it. She then noticed the scrutinizing looks that they gave and sighed. "You don't understand, do you?? That you were once part of a group of Nobodies called Organization XIII. You were Number Nine and you were Number Eight," she added, pointing at Ale.

"Now that's settled, we can go see Artemis," she announced to the guys though her yellow eyes were on Alana. She was thinking about what to do about her. To Bane, Alana was not important at all. "You can stay here," she finally decided. "Artemis doesn't know if you're important or not."

"Wait," Myde interrupted. "Who's Artemis and who are you?"

Bane would have answered but Ale cut her off.

"Actually," the redhead corrected, "what's up with the mouse ears?"

"They're moneky ears!" Bane shrieked, causing the redhead to wince. "Can't you tell be the tail?!"

Instead of answering, the three stared at the blue-haired girl without saying a word. Alana did not if the girl was worth taking seriously. At first, Alana had only wanted to get away from Ale but now . . . . Alana walked around the redhead and passed Bane.

Bane glanced behind her. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you," she replied, still walking.

Bane frowned and jumped back to cut Alana off. Without hesitation, she punched the girl in the stomach.

The books that Alana were carrying scattered on the sidewalk.Alana doubled over in pain, her eyes tearing because the wind had been knocked out of her. Bane watched as the girl fell onto her knees and clutched her stomach. She took a few steps toward Alana with her tail swishing out behind her.

"I changed my mind," Bane said and grabbed a fistful of dark hair. "Maybe Artemis will get to see you after all." Her monkey ears wiggled and her yellow eyes landed on Myde. He had taken a step forward.

"You need to let go of her now," Myde said.

Bane blinked. "What are you going to do?" She challenged.

"Um----"

"You're going to stop me?"

"Uh----"

"You're going to fight me?"

"Maybe----"

"I doubt that you can," Bane finally concluded for Myde. "You don't remember how."

Ale took a step forward and Bane shot him a look. Instead of making eye contact, his green eyes landed on Alana, who was still clutching her stomach. _Did it hurt that badly,_ he asked himself before walking forward a few steps more. He halted when he was in front of Bane. "Let go of her," Ale stated.

Bane pulled Alana's head back. "Aw, does she mean something to you already?"

When Bane's grip got tighter, Alana glared at her. She had a feeling that the guys were reluctant to hit a girl, the only thing preventing from saving her. So now she had become the victim of the whole escapade and she hated that more than anything. When someone else had to protect her.

Alana stopped holding her stomach and swung her left arm to hit Bane's side. However, before that could happen, the strange girl let go and jumped back. Alana growled out of both frustration and anger. Suddenly, she felt a new grip on her shoulder and she realized it was only Myde. The blonde helped her to her feet.

Bane watched this and laughed. "You three are really getting on my nerves. Maybe I should knock you out and then----" She paused in mid sentence. Her ears wiggled, trying to pick up any sounds, as she sniffed the air. "Damn," she muttered as she glanced over her shoulder. Then she jumped into a nearby tree.

Ale, Alana, and Myde heard voices and stared at the street corner ahead of them. Two guys holding bags came into view and saw the redhead. One of them, who had raven hair and golden eyes, said, "Ale!"

The redhead looked at him. "Hey. What's up with the bags?"

Zees held up the bag he was carrying and nodded toward the guy next to him. "Steve's going to have a party."

The one called Steve grinned. "And girls will be there. Lots of them.

Ale smirked. "Is that so?"

Steve's eyes landed on Alana. "You can come too, if you want."

"No thanks," Alana muttered.

Ale looked back at the brunette and saw she was still holding her stomach. An expression of concern passed on his face as his eyebrows furrowed together. "Are you okay?" Alana stared at him as if she did not know what the redhead meant. Ale sighed. "Your stomach," he clarified.

"It's fine." Before she could move, he touched her stomach and Alana gasped in pain. Quickly, she knocked Ale's hand away.

Myde wondered how long she'd keep this up. She was acting lot worse around Ale than when she had first met him in third grade. _"Why are you acting nice to me?"_ That was the first thing she had told Myde. The blonde sighed. Back then she had never been easy and he wondered why he kept trying to be someone she could rely on. His blue eyes caught the books on the ground.

"Funny," Ale smirked. "It looks like you're still in pain."

Alana ignored the redhead and turned toward the blonde. "I'll see you later, Myde."

Before Myde could tell her about her books, she was already on the next block. Myde looked at Ale, shrugged, and started to pick up Alana's belongings.

"She hates you," Zees told Ale.

The redhead shrugged. "Yeah. Sure. Like I care."

"I think you do," Steve smirked, heading for the campus himself. "That's why you were concern for her just now."

Myde nodded in agreement. "She might hate you now but I'm sure she'll like you . . . eventually."

Ale rose his eyebrows. The idea of Alana liking him in any way seemed practically impossible and nothing but a dream. Even so, he was curious to see how much longer he'd have to wait for that to happen. "And 'eventually' is how long?"

Myde shrugged. "Usually two weeks?"

* * *

Using her keys, Alana opened her dorm room and walked inside, closing the door behind her. She looked around the room and saw that her roommate wasn't there. She preferred it this way because it made things less complicated.

She took out a piece of cloth and put some ice from a mini-fridge into it. She sat on her bed and lifted up her shirt. Alana was surprised to see that her stomach was black and blue. She placed the ice on her stomach and shivered from the cold.

Her mind went to Ale. _"Are you okay?"_ Such a simple question with multiple motives behind it. Alana was certain that he had asked because he was concern. Yet she had been ready to snap at him at any moment. _Every time I try to talk to someone, I come off the wrong way. Why do I always do that?_

There was a knock at the door and she looked at it. "Who's there?"

"Myde. You forgot your books."

"Hold on."

_

* * *

_

20 years ago . . .

"Can't believe this," Axel said out loud. "I'm pretty sure it fell around here."

The Flurry of Dancing Flames had came back to Hollow Bastion to find the blue cube. Now he couldn't see it anywhere. The blue cube was the only thing Alana had left behind and now that it was gone, it upset him. He remembered when he had took it from Vexen's lab after the Chilly Academic had been eliminated. He had snuck in and retrieved the cracked object. That hadn't been an easy task with Marluxia constantly giving him orders and Zexion always suspecting him of something.

Axel sighed. He didn't find the cube behind another rock. He scratched his head as he mused in though . Then he realized that someone must have picked it up, probably Saix. "Damn. I kind of wanted to give it back to her . . . . Not like I was going to se her anytime soon."

-FLASHBACK-

He felt Alana responding to the last kiss, revealing the same need he had. Now that he was kissing her, it seemed like a bad idea for numerous reasons, one being that he didn't want to let her go. Feeling more possessive than usual, he held Alana closer to his body and deepened the kiss. Maybe it wasn't satisfactory because Alana quickly pulled away from him, her eyes on the ground. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Wasn't my kissing bad?"

Alana smirked a little. "No, it's not that."

Axel didn't see what was so amusing about the situation; he was taking it seriously. The redhead sighed. "Oh. I see how it is. You want to go now."

"Axel . . . I love you. You know that."

He wrapped his arms around her from behind and whispered, "I know that. Are you sure this is the only way?"

"I have no choice . . . I have to." Her hand glowed. She immediately grasped her heart but she didn't crush yet like she was frightened. Axel's embrace got tighter and she leaned back into it. "Hold me to the end?"

"Yeah. Sure." He had heard a slight waver in her voice and thought that she was crying. He couldn't see her face so he wanted to ask. However the redhead had a feeling she'd denied it just like any other pain she had ever felt.

Axel didn't know when she crushed her heart but he soon found himself steadying the both of them.

"I'm sorry, Axel," she whispered as her body started to disappear.

"You don't have to keep saying that." As her slate eyes closed, he wondered if she even heard that.

-END FLASHBACK-

Axel sighed and looked at the sky. "Sometimes I wonder if we'll even see each other again."

_

* * *

_

Present . . .

In a lab, deep within the grounds of Radiant Garden, was a man. He looked like he was in his thirties. He had long blonde hair and eyes that wanted to have all the answers in world. He sat at a white table, flipping through notes and observations he had made during the last ten years. There was a sound of the door opening but he didn't look back. He knew it was one of his assistants.

"So, find out anything new about the test subjects, Artemis?" His assistant asked.

Artemis looked at him, recognizing the voice. "I heard that you tampered with the experiment."

"How?" The assistant smirked.

"You sent Axel to make contact with the other two. That was not how the experiment should have gone."

"You're acting like Bane didn't do anything. Telling Ale and Myde about themselves."

The blonde groaned. "You two don't seem to understand! They were suppose to awaken on their own!"

"If you wanted to intervene, you should have sent Gear or better yet, your ever-faithful, fellow scientist Thrash. I'm sure he could have stopped us."

Artemis sighed. "It's too late now." He walked over to the only computer and punched a few keys. A file showed up, labeled 'The Order'. He scrolled down the list, passing seven individuals' bios before stopping at the one he wanted. "Your 'friend', looks just like him, Shadow, doesn't he?"

"One more thing. My name's Zees, not 'Shadow'. It's bad enough that Bane trying to make that stick. She's quite an animal, that girl. Especially after the experiment." He looked at scientist and saw the death glare he was getting. The guy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Ale looks just like him," he stated, unable to leave the bitterness out of his voice.

Artemis smirked, glad to hear the answer he wanted. He scrolled down the list some more until he reached the ninth person. "You should try to talk to him during classes."

"Yeah. I will." Zees headed for the door. However, he stopped when he saw a blue cube on the counter. A crack ran through the middle of its one side and into another. He picked it up and shook it. It only made the black mist inside more active. "You still have this piece of junk?"

"It's an artifact," Artemis said simply. "Number Eight dropped it when Number Seven came after him during the Heartless Invasion."

"How priceless," The assistant muttered before placing it back on the counter. Then he left the room and soon, the sound of his footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Artemis turned back to the computer. "That stupid, insolent boy. I should have gotten rid of him." His eyes returned to the computer screen. "Number Nine, the Melodious Nocturne. You might be the first to awaken."

**A/N: That last part was from the original chapter one. I just wanted to tie the 'flashbacks' about the cube to where it was now (obviously in the wrong hands). Because the cube's important in Chapters 5 and somewhat 6. You'll see. Anyway, I guess you can read the next two chapters if you haven't. Though I feel like rewriting them as well. Yeah. So, thanks to xXSketchXofXFireXx for reviewing the newly revised chapter 1. Till later.**


	3. Chapter 3: Renegade

**A/N: I'm sorry if this took forever to be posted. After this, I have to redo Chapters 4 and 5. Those might take a while too. Hopefully not a whole month. Any the Demyx flashback is to explain why Demyx and Alana are friends now while back then Demyx used to annoy her.**

**CHAPTER 3**

**:Renegade:**

_A little more than 20 years ago . . . _

_She hates me,_ Demyx thought as he trailed Alana around the castle, hiding behind every corner and wall so he won't be seen. _But I have to tell her I'm not scared about helping her. But why does Axel have to be with her now? _The redhead had been walking around with Alana for the last two hours and now it was getting on the blonde's nerves. About a week ago, she had yelled at him for being a "chicken"—Axel's word for Demyx's cowardice—and for saying that Nobodies have feelings. The latter he could be okay with but the former he couldn't be.

When he saw that the redhead was not relenting his post by Alana, Demyx summoned his sitar.He came out into the open and called out Axel's name. The redhead turned around. _That was step one of proving I'm not chicken, _he thought to himself. He strummed his sitar and a wave of water appeared behind him. It went around him and swept Axel off his feet, carrying him down the hallway. Alana was standing where she was before staring at the blonde. Demyx ran toward her and scooped her up. Before she could kick him and escape, the Melodious Nocturne opened a portal and jumped through it.

They came out at Ruin and Creation's Passage.Alana elbowed the guy. Demyx felt the pain and he had to let her go. She landed on her feet, muttered something, and turned away. Demyx took a step after her. "Alana! Wait!"

She stopped walking and looked at him. "What is it?"

"Remember what I told you last week?"

" . . . No."

"I said that I didn't want to be turned into a dusk and you told me not to help."

"Now I remember. What's the point behind this?"

"Please don't be mad at me," Demyx begged. He was trying his best to use his puppy dog look to counter her frown. However, the frown didn't go away. He got down on his kneesand held Alana's middle. "Please, please, please!"

"Demyx, get up."

The blonde stood and took out his sitar."What if I played you a song? Would you stop being mad at me?"

"Demyx," Alana muttered, glancing behind her.

The blonde sighed and walked to the end of the platform, dragging his sitar along with him. He sat down, allowing his feet to dangle off the edge.

"It's okay, Alana. You want to be with Axel, right? He's lucky to have someone who listens to him despite that he can be stupid. No one listens to me. A musician needs that." Suddenly he laughed. "Marluxia threatened he would break my sitar if I played another song near him again. That was interesting."

Demyx heard shuffling next to him and glanced to his left. He saw that Alana was sitting next to him, her eyes focused straight ahead of them. His eyebrows furrowed because he wondered if she was doing this out of pity instead of her free will. "Um, Alana, you really don't have to---"

"I'm waiting for you to play a song. I'm willing to listen."

Demyx stared at her, surprised at what she had said. He grinned. "Okay. I'll play one I've been working."

He was nervous because he did not want to screw up in front of the only member of his audience. He wanted to make sure he could get through the piece the best he could. He glanced at her and saw that she was truly waiting for him. Demyx looked back down at his sitar. Then he started to play.

_

* * *

_

Present . . .

By the time it was dark, Alana was rushing to the club where Myde and his band were performing. She did not want to miss his performance----it was all the blonde talked about out of excitement. The least she could do was see it.

Her run slowed down to a walk.

Myde. She had known him since first grade and that was only because they were in the same class. However, he never talked to her. He had only stared. It would have bothered her but she had been staring at him, too. Myde had always had that air of familiarity around him, just like Ale had a couple of days ago.

"You know, a girl shouldn't be walking alone at this time at night."

Alana turned around and saw Zees. She relaxed. "Is that how you say hello?"

Zees caught up with her. "It was meant to be a joke."

"I know," Alana said with a straight face. "It was funny."

Zees raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out if her statement was sarcastic. _Well, _he thought, _Thrash did say the Maiden was a serious person. Guess he was right about that._

Alana looked at Zees and then looked straight ahead. "I was being sarcastic."

" . . . I knew that." Without warning, he grabbed Alana by the shoulder and turned her around. She looked surprised but not scared. _I can easily kidnap her now and bring her to Artemis. We won't even need to bother with Myde. We only need one of them._

"Is something wrong?" Alana asked, her slate eyes narrowing.

"It's just that . . ." _What do I say? What do I say? _"Ale was right. You are cute. But you're just not my type."

Alana pulled away. "You're not my type either."

"So you're going to see Ale perform?" Zees asked.

"I have no choice," Alana replied. "If I'm here for Myde then I might as well see Ale."

* * *

Bane walked into a room. It was dark but she could see a large person hunched over on a bed. She closed the door behind her. "Hey, big guy. How are you?"

"I've been thinking," the man said in a deep voice.

Bane walked over to the dresser, her eyes already adjusted to the darkness, and picked up a container. She shook it and heard the sound of pills, too many considering two weeks had passed. She frowned. "Have you been avoiding your medication?"

He ignored her statement. "I give up on this life."

The blue-haired girl raised her eyebrows. "Why would you?"

"I can't go on living like this."

"Why not?"

The guy stood up and Bane stared at his massive form. He appeared to be eight foot tall, possibly even taller than that, and was overweight for his height as well. He had massive hands and feet. He had a mass of messy brown hair and yellow eyes that shone in the dark as clearly as hers. He pointed to himself. "Look at me! I'm not even human anymore!"

"Yeah. I'm not. None of us truly are, Renegade. We're only _half _human. Of course," she added, shaking the container, "if you don't take your medicine, the 'bad thing' will happen. You do know that, don't you?"

Renegade turned around, his footfalls causing the ground to shake. "I don't care."

Bane sighed. "If that's how you truly feel. But this is technically suicide, isn't it?"

"Artemis assigned me to fight Number Nine, regardless of the injuries that might occur to the guy. Tonight, I will disappear and be done with this."

Bane grinned. "Oh, you've been preparing for this." She walked over to the guy and wrapped her arms around his. He looked down and saw her yellow eyes staring directly into his own. "I'll help you, big guy. Too bad you're going to miss the next Heartless Invasion. It's gonna be so much fun."

"I don't care about that."

"Well, obviously if you're going to kill yourself."

* * *

Ale groaned. For the last five minutes, the band was waiting for the owner of the club to introduced them. He peered around the curtain. He saw how large the crowd was and felt nervous. "There's a lot of people," he told Sai and Myde.

Myde nodded. "Isn't fantastic?"

Sai grinned. "Only you would be happy."

The owner waved his hand toward his left, where the group was waiting. "Presenting the Melodious Nocturnes!"

Sai and Ale stared at Myde. "The Melodious Nocturnes?" They questioned simultaneously.

"It sounded good," Myde countered as he picked up his guitar and walked on to stage. Sai shook his head and picked up his bass. Him and Ale follow the lead vocalist out.

Myde looked behind him and saw that the two had taken their positions. Then he looked out into the audience. Out there, it looked dark with the dimly lit lights. However he could make out the faces. A lot of people were from the college, most of them from his classes. He saw Alana sitting near the back with her eyes on the stage. As he adjusted the microphone, he felt nervous and excited.

Ale stepped on the foot petal, setting a steady beat with the bass drum. Then he hit the suspended cymbal. _If I mess up, Alana probably annoy the hell out of me, _he thought to himself when he played the opening rhythm on the drums. Then he heard Sai's bass joining in and soon Myde played his guitar.

Myde leaned in and sang into the microphone:

"_I know that we've been here before_

_Arguing over something really stupid_

_I know that I tell some little lies_

_But you tell more than I ever did_

_How many more times till you tell the truth_

_How many more times till you realize_

_All the lies that you keep on telling me_

_Keep ripping me in two, I thought you knew_

_What the hell were you thinking_

_When you look straight into my eyes_

_Tell me a lie_

_Thinking I can't see through you . . ._"

Zees and Alana saw the 'Melodious Nocturnes' coming. Zees stood up and greeted Ale before speaking to Myde and Sai. Myde walked over to Alana, a grin on her face. "Well?"

"It was great----!:" Myde started squeezing the life out of her. "Great," she muttered.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

" . . . It's not like I'm lying," Alana mumbled. She saw over Myde's shoulder and saw Ale and Zees staring at them. Sai's eyes were on them to. Zees said something and Ale started to laugh. Sai grinned and shook his head. Alana stood and walked over, Myde following.

A upbeat song played in the background.

Ale smirked and extended his hand to Alana. "Want to dance?"

"No."

Sai laughed. "Told you you'd get denied."

_Is that what they were talking about? _Alana asked with an expression of disbelief on her face. _That?_

"I have to go now," Myde said.

"Why?" Zees asked. Everyone looked at the blonde.

"Remember that History essay that just happens to be due tomorrow?"

"You didn't do it , did you?" Alana sated. Myde sighed and shook his head. Why was he shaking his head as if it was due tomorrow? Today was only Friday; they had till Monday morning to hand it in. She was about to say so but Zees cut her off.

"Good luck with it," Zees said, leading Myde away from the others.

"You know, maybe I can wait another hour or two before I----"

"Nope, you have to take care of it now," Zees insisted. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Alana was giving him a funny look as if she was going to come after them. She took a step forward and he pushed Myde a little harder. "It took me a good twenty-four hours to write a decent paper."

"What?"

"Go now. It's for the best."

"Are you okay, Zees?"

Zees looked back at Alana and saw that she was getting bolder with each step. "I'm fine," he said, turning toward the blonde. "You don't need to fail this class, right?"

"Right. Tell everyone I said bye," Myde said, leaving the club.

Alana was about to run out the door after him but Zees grabbed her arm. "What's your problem?" He asked, his eyes impassive.

"You know it's not due tomorrow," Alana stated, her slate eyes on him.

Zees's golden eyes bore right into hers. "He might procrastinate and waste time. His average needs every good grade he can get." He turned and saw Axel and Sai next to them. They had just gotten there apparently judging by their puzzled expressions. He let go of Alana's arm and stared at the girl. "You need something, Ale, Sai?"

"Um," Ale started with raised eyebrows. "We just wanted to see if anything's up."

"Everything's fine," Alana muttered and turned toward the door. _Why do I have this bad feeling about letting Myde go?_

* * *

Halfway to the college, Myde stopped walking and smacked his forehead. "Why am I such an idiot? I don't even have class tomorrow!" He was about to go back when he heard 'Demyx'. He turned around and saw Bane.

She was with a guy, who was abnormally large, not just width-wise but height as well. He must have been at least eight feet tall, possibly even more. The blonde stared, worried about the reason that they were here. Last time Bane had came, it wasn't the most pleasant visit. "Um, is he your friend?" He asked.

Bane grinned. "Yeah, he is. His name is Renegade."

Myde started to back up, laughing nervously. "I just remembered that I have to go and----!" His blue eyes opened wide when Renegade jumped up, ready to body slam him. Renegade's shadow complete engulfed Myde's body before he ran out of the way. Renegade hit the ground and the tremors shot through Myde's body.

Bane sat down and started to file her nails. "Good luck! He's your opponent for the night!"

"My . . ." Renegade stood less than ten feet away, his size making him all the more intimidating to Myde. "Opponent?"

Renegade cried out a sound that wasn't human. It was more animalistic and bizarre. The guy rammed Myde unexpectedly and the blonde flew back. He fell onto the ground a good distance from where he was standing before. Myde opened his eyes, absorbing the shock of pain. He looked up and saw Renegade in the air, not even giving him the chance to recover. The blonde rolled out of the way.

Bane stood up and stretched. "Come on, Demyx! Fight him!"

"I'm suppose to fight him?!" Myde forced himself to stand up. He was surprised to find himself leaning into someone else. It took him a while to realize it was Bane holding him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you," she whispered, closing her yellow eyes. "You need some darkness. Maybe that will awaken your powers somehow."

"My powers?" Myde felt something grip his heart as his whole body felt cold. He wanted to pull away from Bane but found that he was paralyzed as well. Her embraced got tighter and his body temperature dropped.

Renegade roared, the sound he emitted not sounding human. He became rounder as his head changed shape. His mat of brown hair turned silver and became stiffer as his face was lost in a shroud of darkness. His clothes distorted and turned purple, joining with his skin.

"What's wrong with him?" Myde said, sounding out of it.

"He's a Heartless," Bane said, letting go of Myde and walking over to the water hydrant. She knocked the cap off and water poured into the street. "You can kill him, Demyx. He's no longer human."

**A/N: And that's it for now. Hopefully the redo of Chapter 4 will be up next week.** **More about the flashback: the scene happens between Chapters 7 and 8 of **_**The Ability to Love**_ **I would have probably have it in there (which would have explain why Alana wanted to go help rescue Demyx in Chapter 11) but the story was AxelxAlana so I guess I never focus on Alana's interactions with other characters as much. So since Demyx is important to this story, why not put it in there?**


	4. Chapter 4: Thrash

**A/N: Here. Two chapters. I'm probably going to rewrite the beginning chapters soon. As of right now, I'm too lazy.**

**CHAPTER 4**

**:Thrash:**

The Heartless roared and threw its arm into the air. The sound vibrated and shook the surrounding area. Bane continued to hold Myde as her yellow eyes focused on the creature in front of them. The two individuals were soaking wet but they didn't stir. "Demyx, don't let it scare you," she told him. The Heartless came charging at them. Bane let go of him. "You know what to do, Number Nine."

The look in his eyes changed as he held his hands out front. "I think so." Though the statement should have been one of uncertainty, his voice held a tone of confidence. Almost like he had expected, a wall of geysers rose in front of him. The Heartless rammed into it and bounced off.

The blue-haired girl grinned as the darkness in her heart poured into his. _Finally. At this rate, Demyx is going to be back._

* * *

Back at the club, Ale came back to the table and sat across from Alana. Zees wasn't there and Ale assumed he was dancing. He looked at the Alana, sighing when he realized that she was ignoring him. The redhead wanted to ask her for another dance but he had a feeling her answer would be 'no'. He was about to try but she cut him off.

"Aren't you tired of all this dancing?" She suddenly asked.

Ale scratched his head. "Uh, you want to go home already?"

"Yeah," she said as she stood up. "Bye. I'll see you tomorrow."

Ale got up and followed her to the exit. "You're leaving?" He didn't want to leave the club yet. However, he didn't want her to go either. When she stopped by the door, he leaned on the doorway and looked at her.

Alana stared at him, trying to decipher his motives to no avail. "I have nothing else to do here," she stated.

The redhead looked away, thinking about the situation. "I'll walk you back to your dorm," he finally offered.

Alana smirked. "Is this your way of hitting on me?"

Suddenly, Ale skillfully pinned her against the wall and leaned in. He grinned when he saw the surprised look on her face. "Maybe," he whispered. Before he could add something, Alana pushed him away.

"You don't have to walk me home."

"True. But I don't mind."

Alana stared at him, trying to wonder what his aim was. She thought about it and got nothing. " . . . Fine. If you want to."

* * *

"Hey, Bane," Myde said. His eyes focused on the Heartless as a dark fog engulfed it. Even though he had been attacking nonstop, the creature was still standing. He looked back at the blue-haired girl and said, "My attacks aren't working."

Bane looked up from the curb. She shrugged and took out a nail file. She then tended to her claws. "I don't know how to deal with a Giant Body," she told Myde. _Hell, I don't think any of us can deal with something of this magnitude. Everything Demyx tries bounces right off him._ _Maybe if he becomes a Nobody, his attacks will be stronger. How can I turn him into a Nobody?_

Myde sidestepped to avoid getting rammed. The Heartless halted and looked around as if it was confused. "A Giant Body?" He questioned as he prepared to rise another geyser. The Heartless was about to charge at him again.

Bane nodded. "That's what Renegade was fused with." She examined her claws at all angles before continuing her filing. She looked up to see how Myde was doing. Apparently, he wasn't doing so great.

"Oh, I'm really the wrong guy for this job," the blonde whined as he avoided the Giant Body again.

"Keep trying!" Bane encouraged. "Try summoning your weapon!"

"What weapon?!" He yelled.

Bane rolled her eyes, not knowing what to do. Then she saw Ale and Alana coming in their direction. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. _Not now, _she thought. She got off the curb and ran passed the fight. She leapt twenty feet forward and landed in front of the two on all fours. She stood up straight, her tail swishing behind her. "Hello, Axel." Her yellow eyes landed on Alana and she smirked. "_Maiden_."

"Maiden?" Alana repeated.

Bane laughed. "You don't know? We know a lot about you. Thrash told us all about the _Maiden_ of Kingdom Hearts." Every time she said the title, there was a mockery behind it, revealing the hatred and despise in her heart. As if to reinforce that fact, her yellow eyes turned ice cold despite the gleeful laughter that had left her mouth. "Let me tell you the basic story.

"Once upon a time there was a stupid girl with a blue cube. She went around collecting Heartless. She lost the cube. Axel found the cube. Then he lost it. Soon some kid named Artemis came along and picked it up. Later, he became a scientist. Two years ago, the kid-who-turned-scientist removed six Heartless and combined them with six regular people. Then we were born. Individuals with two hearts, nearly dominated by the darkness. If I ever want to blame someone, it would have to be you, _Maiden_. Because _you_ had the cube, _you_ caught the Heartless, and then_ you _lost it."

The blue-haired girl took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eye s as she did so. Her eyes fluttered opened and she glanced over her shoulder to check on Myde. "How's it going-----Huh?"

Myde ran passed the group, screaming, "Run! Run away!" He dove into a bush to avoid getting run over by the Giant Body. Bane quickly leapt into the air. Alana froze when she saw the thing coming their way. Ale was forced to grab Alana out of the way. The Heartless ran passed them and halted, looking confused once more.

Myde stuck his head out of the bush and saw the redhead. "Oh, hey Axel. You're looking lively."

Ale stared, still clutching onto Alana. "Myde, what did you say?"

The blonde blinked. "Um, I don't really know." There was a roar and he glanced at his left. He saw the Giant Body and winced. "Oh, I wish I was at the dorms right now."

"I though there were no more Heartless in Radiant Garden," Ale stated as the creature faced them. When it charged at him and Alana, the two jumped in separate directions.

* * *

Two people were watching the scene from afar. One was girl.

She had yellow eyes and tan, limp hair that was straight. Her hands were bandaged. Her tee-shirt and dark shorts tattered. The girl looked up at the taller man beside her. "I feel so bad for Renegade," she told him.

He shrugged. "I don't feel anything at all. Sort of ironic for a guy with two hearts," he added.

The man, compared to the girl, looked rich. He had on a white suit. His snow white hair had a shine to it and so did his golden eyes. He looked normal except for his long arms. The man looked so well-kept while the girl didn't. However, they were from the same place and worked for Artemis.

The man sighed and his eyes narrowed with contempt. "Stupid Bane. She always has to do something that jeopardizes us. Even Renegade joined her on her little escapade."

"How are we going to help him?" The girl asked.

"We'll take him down," he replied in a monotone voice. "Eliminate him. There's nothing else we can do, Warp. Of course, I'll need your help."

She nodded as she finally removed the bandages.

* * *

"Myde!" Alana yelled. "Watch out!"

Myde looked up and saw that the black aura was surrounding the Giant Body. It came toward him again and the blonde rolled out of the way, watching it run through a fence. He stood and started running back to the water.

The Heartless turned around and saw Myde running away. It chased after him.

Water splashed as he headed to the center. He turned around and faced the running Heartless. Myde racked his brain, trying to figure how to do the trick again.

"Water?" The water remained on the ground. He started to panic as the creature got closer. "Um, dance?" He almost laughed at himself. _Yeah, like telling water to dance would work. _Now that the Heartless was less than ten feet away, tremors shot through the blonde's bodyl

Myde braced himself for impact.

Suddenly arms wrapped around him and he disappeared from the spot. He appeared underneath a nearby tree. He looked behind him and saw a girl. Although she had saved him, she looked unhappy. "I'm sorry about this," she said apologetically. She ran away from him and went toward the Heartless.

Myde looked behind him and jumped. A young man in a suit was leaning against the tree next to him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to attack you," the young man muttered as he pushed off the tree. "I'm here for that despicable thing."

The girl looked back at the approaching man and then peered down at her hands. They were wither and limp as her hair. Her fingers were long and pale. She couldn't wait to wrap her hands in the bandages again. "I'm sorry, Renegade," she said to the roaring creature. She warped and appeared behind the Giant Body. Then she lashed out at its back. The creature cried in pain. Regardless of her feelings, she did it again. The creature fell on its knees, weakened by the attack while she felt refreshed and full of energy.

"Thrash, what now?" She asked as Thrash walked around the creature.

"Don't look, Warp," he replied. Immediately, the girl turned around and wrapped the bandages around her hands.

Thrash checked to make sure she had followed orders. When he saw that she had, he looked at the Heartless. His hands transformed into black claws. He got down and twisted his upper body. Then it unraveled itself. His claws hit the Giant Body's back several times, each swipe stronger than the last. The Heartless fell forward and onto its round stomach.

He stopped and checked on Warp. After he saw her back was still turned, he jumped up and ripped through the Heartless's back. Black fluid oozed out of the gashes. The Heartless then evaporated. _Will that be our fates?_ He thought as his hands returned to normal. His golden eyes landed on the three people now underneath the tree.

"Warp," he said. "I need you to bring _her_ here."

Alana and Ale had reached Myde just in time to see how the Heartless was defeated. The two were shocked when Myde had told them they, the guy in the suit and the Heartless, were on the same side. Now that one fight was done, there were two new people to deal with and Myde was not up for another Heartless attack.

"Hello there," the man greeted as the girl beside him disappeared. He then approached them.

Ale and Myde stepped in front of Alana on impulse.

The man stopped, five feet separating him from them. He looked at each one of them, a smile on his face. "The three former Nobodies."

"What are you talking about?" Myde asked.

"I'm not expecting you to remember as fast as I did. Unlike your hearts, mine is close to the dark. We could easily solve that problem but Artemis told us not to interfere." His eyes suddenly narrowed out of hatred. "It pisses me off that he thinks he knows so much when he understands so little. Anyway," he stated, changing the subject. "What has Bane been telling you?"

"A lot of things," Myde said. "Like about how you and her and others got this way."

He acted like he didn't know. " Hm . . . Now I remember. The Experimentations . . . Anything else?"

"What did Bane do to me?"

"Ansem the Wise did say that the heart is unpredictable."

Before the Myde could ask what he meant by that, Warp appeared with Bane. Bane jerked herself away from the pale girl. Warp sighed and walked up to the guy. "Sorry it took so long, Thrash."

His golden eyes landed on Bane. "It's okay, Warp. I just wanted to talk to her."

Bane glowered at Thrash. "Bastard. Sending her to do your dirty work." Suddenly she looked away from Thrash and stared at the ground. _It's look like almost every was at least here. Only Gear and Shadow are missing. But the chances are that Shadow will be here soon._ She asked, "Why are you two here anyway?"

Thrash shrugged. "Why does it matter? Just know that if Warp wasn't here, I would have killed you by now." He looked at Ale, Myde, and Alana. He noticed Shadow coming out of the tree behind the girl. _Always one step ahead._

Shadow's arms wrapped around her and Alana gasped. At that point, Ale and Myde turned around. Before the guys could respond, Shadow quickly pulled her into the shadows and appeared next to Thrash. She struggled in his arms but he knew she couldn't hurt him. Not when he was like this.

"Let go of me," Alana said.

"I can't."

Shadow saw anger in Ale's eyes and thought about what Alana had said in her sleep. He wondered if that was why he was angry, because he too had similar feelings buried deep in his heart. So it was not a surprise that Ale came running toward them along with Myde. He didn't care until the air's temperature went up. _Fire?_

Warp appeared in front of Shadow and started to bite her bandages off. "I"ll handle this," she said.

Once the bandages were off, Warp took off running toward the two guys. Her hands went through their chest and they stopped. "I can't let you hurt them," she whispered as she pulled her hands out of them. The two fell onto the ground, unconscious.

"Myde! Ale!" Alana yelled, struggling all the more.

"Can I knock her out now?" Shadow asked. He was disguising his voice so Alana wouldn't recognize it.

"I want to ask her something first," Thrash said. He walked till he stood in front of the struggling girl. "Do you remember me?" Instead of answering, she glowered at him. This merely amused him and he turned away, smirking. "Does the name 'Dimitri' ring a bell?"

The look on her face turned from one of hatred to one of contemplation. "Should it?"

"Well, it_ is _your fault I exist."

"Then again, it's her fault for a lot of things," Shadow muttered.

Alana saw that Bane was now next to Myde and Ale. "What is she doing to them?!" She demanded as Bane touched their backs.

"She's helping them remember," Thrash said. "Nobodies are beings of darkness. So the more enveloped their hearts are in darkness, the more they'll remember. That's why the new Demyx was controlling water not so long ago. It was something he use to do in his past life. Understand, _Maiden_? Now, I'm more curious about what the darkness would do to you."

Alana felt her heart grow cold and her body becoming numb. Soon, she felt like there were weights on her arms pulling her down an abyss.

Thrash studied her face. "Just close your eyes and relax, Maiden. Maybe you'll remember something."

* * *

Alana's eyes fluttered opened. Immediately, she sat up and checked her surroundings. She was back in her dorm room and according to the clock, it was already after three in the morning. _Was that a dream?_ She asked herself.The images flashed in her mind and Alana sighed, feeling a bad headache coming on. _It couldn't have been. It was too real. _

**A/N: Since you all know by know, I'll tell you who is fused with who. Bane is fused with a Powerwild. Thrash is fused with a Wight Knight. Shadow is fused with a Neoshadow. Renegade was fused with a Giant Body. Warp is fused with a Search Ghost. And, finally, Gear (only briefly mentioned) is fused with an Air Soldier.**


	5. Chapter 5: Remembrance

**CHAPTER 5**

**:Remembrance:**

_Alana,_

_I know that your dreams aren't clear at the moment and you don't remember anything about your past self. I'm certain that you want to know about the other you. Myde's remembering and Ale is too. Because I know you, you are jealous after hearing Myde talking about it nonstop. If you want to know truth, meet me in the courtyard. Shadow (Artemis's "eyes") tells me hardly anyone goes there._

"_Dimitri"_

Alana had memorized the letter. She had found it on her pillow this morning before she had left for Psychology. Now it wasn't leaving her alone, constantly messing with her thoughts. She shuffled her calculas textbook and notebook in her arms and glanced at Myde, wondering if she should tell him about it. Not like she cared much about it and not like she would go. She just wanted to make conversation. Before she could speak her mind, Myde spoke.

"I had another dream again."

It was nothing new to her. "About those colt people in the black cloaks?" She asked, at least trying to be interested.

"No. This time it was about some weird kid swinging a giant key at me! And he was getting help from a dog and a crazy duck!"

Alana sighed. This had started a month ago, the day after the gig. Myde would tell her the dream he had the previous night and Alana would comment about how strange it was. Then he would talk about who was in it. In a way, it annoyed her. At the same time, it didn't. Still, it did not bother her as much as the little changes in him. Like he would occasionally say 'lively' or let the word 'plain', followed by an adjective, slip out. Alana looked at Myde and saw he had a worried look on her face that simply asked if he did something wrong. She looked down at the books in her hands.

"So who else was in it?" She finally asked.

"Just those three and me. We got into a fight . . . and I lost. Real badly."

"And then what?"

"I died. Oh, but I had another dream. Only this time you and----I mean the other you and 'Axel' were trying to escape and I was helping you."

_He meant to say 'Ale', _she thought, frustrated more than ever. However, she hid it from Myde and continued the Q&A session they were having."So why were we trying to escape?"

"The people in the cloaks were after you."

Alana stopped walking. "Did you tell Ale any of this?"

"Uh, no."

"You should. He'll tell you how ridiculous it all sounds."

Myde laughed. "He might. But I haven't talked to him to him lately. You know, since Rob came back."

Alana held her books more securely and continued walking. "I wonder if he has strange dreams himself."

Myde hurried up to be next to his best friend. "Well, you've been having strange dreams."

Alana looked at him and stared into his blue eyes. "They're all hazy in my head and I can never make sense of them."

"There was that one night when you were screaming in your sleep about the darkness and scared the hell out of your roommate."

"Yeah? What about it?"

"That was the only one you seem to remember."

It was. But the feelings and bad vibes she got from her made her wish she didn't.

* * *

-DREAM-

"This is Sunsetville, huh?" Asked the dark-brown-haired girl. She looked back at the redhead with her slate eyes. "So where are we staying?"

"In a hotel," he replied, thinking the answer was obvious.

Her eyebrows raised. "Without money?"

The redhead wondered why he didn't think that far ahead. He supposed that he could 'borrow' some from random people. Or they could get jobs. He scratched head and hoped that would not be the case. He didn't escape so he could work under another person.

"I think we should try to do odd jobs around here," the girl suggested.

"Is that really necessary?" He questioned.

"Why? You prefer stealing?"

" . . . No." _Borrowing is a better term for it_, he thought to himself. The redhead stared at the girl in front of him, who, just like him, had no clue where she was going. _You're doing this for her_, he reminded himself. _I guess we'll have to get jobs. _

"I wonder if they're okay?" She suddenly asked and halted. She looked back at him with a sadness in her eyes.

He caught up to the girl and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"You mean Demyx and Roxas?"

-END DREAM-

There was a tap on the desk. Ale opened his green eyes and lifted his head off the desk. He saw the History teacher standing in front of him, tapping her foot impatiently. Immediately, he sat up. "Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin. "I guess I must be tired." _Or bored, _he added in his mind.

"Ale, who are Demyx and Roxas?" She asked. Like the teacher, the whole room looked at Ale and waited for an answer.

"Uh, two friends that died in a freak accident," Ale lied. "In a factory," he quickly added.

"I lived here all my life and I never once heard anything about two kids in any accident."

"I'm from Transverse Town," he explained.

The History teacher stared at her student before heading back to the front of the class. "Don't fall asleep in my class again or you will be punished," she warned as her heels clicked on the tiled floor.

Zees, who sat next to Ale, elbowed the redhead. "That was a lie, right?" He asked in a low voice. Ale nodded as he looked at the board full of notes and then at his blank paper. He looked back and made eye contact with the History teacher. Without hesitation, she erased the board.

Zees grinned when Ale hung his head. "Don't worry about it. You can copy mine."

"Thanks," Ale muttered.

* * *

Thrash sat working at Artemis's computer. Usually he would not be there. However, Artemis had stepped out of the lab and now it was available for use. Thrash was the only one of the six—five now—who took advantage of this opportunity and went to the lab early.

"I heard you skipped breakfast this morning," said a quiet voice behind him.

He jumped. He hadn't heard footsteps. He looked behind and saw Warp standing behind him. The girl was holding a cup filled with something. Today, she wore a skirt and a giant tee-shirt, different from her other outfit. He turned back to the files he was studying on the screen. "Yeah, I did."

"I felt bad so I made you a cappuccino with whip cream on top." She sighed. "I should have gotten you a proper breakfast though. I wish Bane and Gear didn't eat all the food."

Thrash turned around and took it from her. "It's okay. Thanks." He took a sip, already savoring the taste. He closed his eyes as he mused in his thoughts. "You're the only one of us who isn't selfish."

"Really?" She was surprised by the compliment.

Thrash tilted his head back, causing his bangs to leave his forehead, and opened his eyes. He saw the blush forming on her cheeks but thought nothing of it. "Look. If I could, I would get rid of some people, a lot of people. Shadow really doesn't care what the rest of us thinks about his solo decisions. Bane is only in this because she thinks Number Nine is cute. Gear doesn't bother talking to the any of us. Renegade didn't care what offing himself would do to the rest of us. Only you worried about the whole group and I think that's really an admirable trait."

"Thank you," she whispered. Warp never realized how handsome he truly was until that moment. The more she thought about it, the more her blush deepened. Did he know what he was doing to her? Maybe. Maybe not. The latter seemed supported by the innocent look on his face.

He sat upright again and started his work on the computer. "I have to finish this before Artemis comes back. I'll see you later and thanks again for the cappuccino."

"You're welcome," she said as she disappeared from the spot.

He sighed before taking another sip_. It's a shame. I might have to sacrifice such a selfless girl._

* * *

Alana had been sitting on the bench for a good fifteens minutes. She looked at the sky and saw that it had turned grey. _It's going to rain soon_, she concluded to herselfThe moment she thought that, it drizzled. The downpour became heavier and she sighed. When she was about to leave, an umbrella opened above her head. She looked up into golden eyes.

"Sorry I'm late," Thrash apologized. "I'm surprised that you came."

"So what do you have to tell me?"

"Your past life. I have a feeling you don't remember much. I didn't. Until Artemis showed up with a sliver cane he found. Once my hands were on it, I remembered everything. The day we first met, the day your Heartless appeared at my door, and the day my heart was crushed by your Nobody." He looked at her. _I wonder if she could still do that._

"Where's the cane?" She suddenly asked.

Thrash blinked as he tried to understand where she was coming from. Then he understood. "The cane's not going to help you because it was never yours. However," he continued, pulling out something from his pocket, "this will."

Alana stared at the blue cube in his hand, her eyes staring at the black wisps inside of it. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to decide what it was and reached out to touch. However, she hesitated and drew back.

Thrash grinned. "It's okay. It won't hurt."

Alana touched it and she was hit by a flood of memories. Her hand remained on the blue cube, frozen as she tried to sort everything out. Suddenly, she jumped up, not caring that she was out of the umbrella's shelter. "I don't get it."

Thrash looked at her, feigning innocence. "Don't get what?"

"You used to be my master who taught me everything I knew. So why are you fighting against me if you remember?"

Instead of answering her, Thrash stood up and placed the blue cube in his pocket.

"Give that to me," Alana commanded, extending out her hand for it.

Thrash stared at the girl. "I can't. We need it for the Heartless invasion."

"The Heartless invasion?"

Thrash moved swiftly and grabbed the girl in his arm.

Alana felt the familiar numbness she had had several weeks ago, discovering she could hardly move against the towering man. Thrash's hold got tighter and Alana blushed at the awkwardness.

Thrash sighed, still not relinquishing his hold. "Where else could we get Heartless but from inside here?" He asked rhetorically before releasing his hold on her. He then moved away from her and put a good distance between the two of them.

"So unfortunately," he concluded, "giving this back to you isn't an option. In truth, I was hoping you would help us with our research on the Organization. But it looks like you're fighting against me." He closed his golden eyes and sighed. "Hey, Warp."

The silent girl appeared in next to Thrash in an instant.

"I guess you can fight her."

"What?"Alana said and turned in his direction. However, he was already walking off. "Hey!" She was about to run after the retreating man but Warp appeared between the two.

"We have to fight," the melancholy girl said as she removed the bandages from her hands. With the rain, her hair looked more limp than ever.

"Do you always listen to him?"

"You should understand that he is a great man," Warp said in a low voice. "And therefore, as long as he needs my help, I'll follow his orders." She ran toward Alana.

Alana stepped back, remembering what she could do. She would have kicked the girl but Warp disappeared and reappeared behind her. Alana turned around but it was too late; Warp grabbed her shoulder. Immediately the brunette felt her strength leaving her body and escaped the grip.

Alana dodged a swipe while she back away from the girl. Without warning, she tripped over a tree root and fell onto her back. Warp struck and she rolled out of the way and onto her feet. Her wet hair got in front of her face and Alana removed. Warp took advantage of the opening and knocked Alana into a tree.

Warp appeared in front of the girl and, with her hand, penetrated through Alana's shoulder.

Alana quickly kicked her away and fell onto the muddy ground. She did not move because she felt drained of her strength. Her slates eyes landed on Warp, who was a good distance away.

Warp looked up at the sky, allowing the rain to fall in her face, as she tried to figure out her next move.

-FLASHBACK-

Warp appeared in Trash's room. The white-haired man was in a chair reading a book. He looked up at her and she bowed. "Bane told me you needed me."

"Yeah, I do. Today I'm going to see Alana."

Warp's yellow eyes opened wide at this. "Really? But Artemis told us----"

"Who cares what that delusional man said? All I want to know is if Alana is still the Maiden."

"Isn't she?"

"We call her Maiden, but we're not sure if she still has the powers of a Maiden. Get it?"

She nodded. Artemis had warned them not to interfere with the three former Nobodies again. Yet here they were, discussing further plans about interfering with their progress. She swayed uneasily on her feet as she waited to Thrash to say something.

She watched as Thrash closed the book. "Once she remember something," he started, "I'll ask if she'll join us. If she says yes, all is well. If she says no, she'll die of heart failure."

"What?"

"You can do that, right? Touch the heart and drain it till it's dead?"

"I . . . I've never tried it before."

-END FLASHBACK-

"I'm sorry that I have to eliminate you," Warp said as she stared at her hands before looking at Alana. She watched as the girl got up, struggling to not fall back on her knees. Although she could have, Warp did not like attacking someone who was down. It wasn't in her character. So she waited for the girl to stand upright.

Alana leaned on the tree, the best she could do. She stared as Warp approached her.

"_Then we were born. Individuals with two hearts, dominated by the darkness."_

"_I wish you had a heart so I can kill you."_

"_I crushed them."_

"Where's Warp?" Bane asked Thrash. She jumped down from the tree.

"She's could be meeting her demise."

"What do you mean 'could be'?!"

Thrash looked at her. "If I successfully awoken Alana. If I didn't, there would be no need to worry about Warp. I mean the chances of Alana gaining her powers, even temporarily, is only five percent."

"I can't believe you put Warp in danger."

"The chances of her getting eliminated are only fifty percent."

"Like that makes it any better!"

* * *

Ale walked out of the library, holding his books by his side. "Damn," he muttered when he saw it was still raining. He pulled up his hood and stepped out into the downpour. Then he started running to the dorms, using the shortcut through the courtyard. Usually, he would haven taken the longer way and take his time. However, since it was raining and he was in a hurry, he used it.

He was halfway through the courtyard when he saw a black-haired girl sitting on the ground. She was soaking wet but she apparently she hadn't tried getting out of the rain. Out of curiosity, he walked over to her. "Are you o----!" Now that Ale was closer, he saw Alana lying on the ground. "What happened to her?"

The girl turned around and looked at him with big brown eyes. "I'm sorry about this. But I don't know where to take her or----!"

"You're one of the Experiments, right?" Ale suddenly asked. The girl nodded and his eyebrows raised. _She must be Warp_, the redhead concluded in his mind as he picked up Alana._ But what happened to her? _

Before he could walk away, the girl spoke up. "Can I come with you?"

"Why?"

She looked at the ground, her head hanging low. "I think . . . I'm certain that I lost my powers. So I can't go back to the others."

Ale stood there, not sure what to do. Here was the enemy in front of him who probably had hurt the girl now in his arms. At the same time, she was apologizing for whatever she did. It was at times like these he wasn't sure what to do.

**A/N: Thanks to Artistlil349, halfdemon-kai, and haley for reviewing. I know there is some questions so I'll answer them. The "Order" (Organization XIII—how I miss them) is unfortunately gone because Sora got rid of everyone. There's only one "Axel" and one "Demyx" because: 1) their Nobody was destroyed and 2) they weren't reincarnated until that happened. How is Alana and "Demyx" friends? Brief history on that in later chapters. I don't know if Sora and Co. will appear in the story. Still thinking about it. And Ale is technically Axel. Just that Axel is Ale's Nobody and he sacrifice himself to help Sora twenty years ago. But Axel is still Ale's Nobody. I know I'm being very confusing but hopefully Chapter 7 (next week) will make sense of the questions. Yeah. Till later.**


	6. Chapter 6: Heartless Invasion

**A/N: I finally replaced Chapter 1 and I just need to replace Chapter 2. The new chapter 1 is a combination of Chapter 1 and 2 so you really don't need to read it. It sticks to the already created storyline, with maybe a few minor changes in the order of events. Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

**CHAPTER 6**

**:The Beginning of the Heartless Invasion:**

-FLASHBACK-

Yes. She had been dreaming. But as the girl stood outside the castle, she could feel the wind blowing against her face and hear Demyx's song in the background. She look back at the redhead and the two blondes. "Hey, Axel."

He looked at her. "What is it?"

"Are you sure your escape plan will work?" She asked. Demyx must have been rubbing off on her. He had been complaining about it the last week and now that the day was tomorrow . . . Alana looked back at the city below. Doubts were finally settling in for the pessimistic girl. So many Organizations members against so few of them.

"It's flawless," he told her. "How many of my plans have failed?"

Demyx stopped playing. "Um . . . several times?"

Roxas grinned and said, "A lot."

Alana looked at him, daring him to say something now. Axel scratched the back of his head and smirked. "Look, we'll get out of here eventually. Just have some faith in me. And then thank me once we've escaped."

"I hope it works," Demyx said, a slight whine in his voice. "I really don't want to be turned into a Dusk."

-END FLASHBACK-

Alana was in her room, preparing to sleep on the floor. She would have preferred to be in her bed but she had given it to Payge.

Payge was Warp's, if you could still call her that, real name. She had told Ale when he had found her with an unconscious Alana. When Alana came to, she found that Payge had lost all her Heartless abilities. Ale had provided the answer to the question: "You crushed her heart." So he had remembered that as well. Myde had came later. The group as a whole had discussed the Heartless Invasion, Payge giving what she knew on it. Even that wasn't enough because that event was drawing closer; how close it was, they did not know.

Alana crawled into her makeshift bed, already hating the floor.

"Hey, Alana," Payge said as she sat on the bed, putting her straight black hair into a ponytail.

"Hm?"

"Is Myde always that funny?"

Alana raised her eyebrows. "I guess so. You think his jokes are hilarious?" She wondered if she should have even bothered with the question. Payge had been giggling at almost everything the blonde had said, whether it was a joke or not. " . . . You like him?"

Her face turned bright red. "No, I don't."

* * *

Later that night, Zees snuck into Alana's room. It was pitch black but he can see where the girls were; Alana was sleeping on the floor while Payge----Warp----was sleeping on Alana's bed. He crawled onto, heard it creak, and stopped to check if Alana woke up. The girl didn't Payge moved until he had her pinned. Warp woke up and Zees placed his hand over the girl's mouth. "It's me," he whispered. "Shadow. I just need you answer a few questions. Can you do that?" She nodded. "Good."

* * *

Thrash was in the lab, standing in front of a pile of scrap metal he had retrieved. He was looking at a blueprint when he yawned. "It must be getting late," he told himself.

Bane entered the lab, carrying a teenager with her. He was kicking but because of her unusual strength, she didn't have a problem. "I got Gear to finally come out," she said, releasing the kid. "You owe me something," she told him.

Thrash stared at the two and rolled up the blueprint. "I'll pay you back somehow, Bane." He looked at Gear and gave the kid a warm smile. "How are you? We haven't seen you for three months since you lock yourself in that room."

Gear gritted his teeth. "I was kind enough to put a 'Do NOT Disturb' sign on my door. I even made a little slot for food and messages to enter my room. But you send this freakish girl to break my door down and haul me out of my room and here you are now, smiling about it!"

Thrash was letting everything go through one ear and out the other. When Gear's mouth stopped moving, he spoke. "You like to build things. So I have a job for you."

"Why? Dimitri the Great can't do it?"

Thrash threw the blueprint at Gear and the teenager caught it. "Look at it."

Gear gave Thrash a cold look before unrolling it. He adjusted his goggles while he studied the designs. "Looks complicated. What is it?"

"A machine that creates artificial Heartless. It was Xehanort's creation. I just made a few modifications here and there. Nothing major. So can you build it?"

Gear glanced at Thrash. "I can build. Let me just think if I should help you or not."

Bane looked at the floor and saw a moving shadow. "Oh, guess who came to join the party?"

Thrash looked and saw Shadow in front of him. Before Thrash could say anything, Shadow started swinging left and right. Thrash backed up as Shadow moved forward. When he saw that he was about to back up into a sharp piece of metal, he caught Shadow's hand in his claws. "What's wrong with you? Aren't you suppose to be at the university?"

"You could have killed Warp, you manipulative bastard."

"So I assume she's still alive," Thrash replied thoughtfully. "Where is she now?"

"At the university."

"And you didn't bring her back because?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Because she's nothing more than a human." Gear looked up. Bane's jaw dropped opened. Shadow looked at the two before returning his glare at Thrash. "You know more about Alana than you told us. What the hell is she?"

"A maiden."

"A maiden that randomly crushes hearts?"

Thrash sighed. "That's one of the few gifts she has."

"Well, start naming them already."

"I honestly don't recall the rest of them."

"You're lying. This 'Maiden' of yours is part of some bigger scheme you're planning. Maybe I should kill her now."

The young man looked at Shadow, not sure how to approached him about the situation. Tell him what his plan was? No. There was a risk at even adding one extra player to the game. It was only meant for two. Thrash shoved Shadow away from him in order to get some breathing room. "I'm not going to deny it. You can kill the Maiden if you wanted. But that's not really a wise choice. There's nothing to gain from it."

Shadow clenched his fists. "What did you have to gain from sending Warp into battle like that?"

Thrash shrugged. "I don't really know. All it did was prove her loyalty to me. I believe at this point I have nothing more to say."

"Good," Gear interrupted. "I've been waiting to ask when to start building this machine."

"It should be done by the end of the week," Bane answered. "It would be just in time for the Heartless invasion . . . Wait a second," she said, turning on Thrash. "You knew something like this would happen to Warp. That's why you never mentioned the time until she was gone."

"Can't have her giving everything away to them, right?"

* * *

Alana opened her eyes and saw a redhead leaning over her. At first, she wanted to say 'Axel' but then she realized that it was just Ale. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

Ale stood upright and looked over his shoulder. "We wanted to talk to you about our plan."

Alana saw Myde sitting on the bed next to a blushing Payge. He waved at Alana when he noticed that she was staring. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of her bed. She looked at the standing redhead, indicating he could sit. He sat next to her on the bed. She had a feeling her hair was in a mess-----_Do I care what he thinks about me,_ she thought, glancing at the redhead next to her-----but decided she would deal with it later. She stretched, yawning as she did so. "What's your plan?"

Myde took out a book. On it, in gold letters, was 'Jiminy Cricket's _Keyblade Chronicles'_. He handed it to Alana and she started to flip through it. "I got this from a history guru last night," Myde explained, "and I stayed up skimming through it. Apparently, there's this wizard named Merlin. Maybe he could help Ale and me with our 'powers'."

"I thought nobody knows where he disappeared to," Alana stated, closing the book.

"We can still look for him," Ale muttered. "Maybe if get lucky, we can gather an army to fight off the Heartless."

"Yeah," Myde said excitingly. "If we find Merlin, we can probably find Yuffie and Cloud and Leon. They were mentioned in the book too."

"And if we don't find them?" Alana asked.

"Being pessimistic, aren't you?" Ale smirked, his eyes on the girl next to him.

"It's more likely that we _won't _find them," Alana stated.

"If that's the case, then Radiant Garden is doomed," Payge whispered.

Myde wrapped an arm around Payge and brought her closer to his body, not aware of how badly the girl was blushing. "Don't worry. We'll find them."

_

* * *

_

One week later . . .

"To think we going to unleash all these Heartless on unsuspecting people," Thrash muttered. He was sitting on a rock in the Great Maw, back to back with Bane. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the girl staring at him.

"Don't act like you care," Bane said. "You didn't care what happened to Warp."

"Can you even said that?"

"You used your good looks and charm to manipulate her."

He stared at her. " . . . You think I'm that good looking?"

Bane looked away frustrated and mad, eying the vast army of Heartless behind them, standing still, waiting for orders. "Don't put words in my mouth." She gasped when Thrash wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on her shoulder. She pushed Thrash away and looked away, not wanting him to see the smile on her face. "I'm not like Warp. Such petty things won't work on me."

Thrash stood up. "Not like I was expecting it to." He approached the army, his hands in his pockets. He stood still in place, trying to find a way to give out orders. _How does this work?_ He asked himself.

"Need help?" Bane asked.

"No. I've got this."

Myde groaned, slamming his head on the table. Payge, Alana, and Ale looked at him. "It's no use," he said. "We can't find them. We looked in every single history book and there's no clue to their whereabouts."

Payge patted Myde on the back, her awkward way of comforting him. "Maybe we looked in all the wrong places."

"I hope so," Myde said, sitting back up. "Hey, maybe will get lucky and this Heartless Invasion will fail like the last one."

"We'll need extreme luck for that to happen," Ale muttered.

Suddenly, the sirens in the library went off. _"This is a lockdown. I repeat, this is a lockdown. Radiant Garden is under attack."_ There was the screeching of chairs as people got up and ran out of the libraries. They could faintly hear the librarians telling everyone to stay put and to head for the basement for safety. No one really listened. The four looked at each other, waiting for someone to come up with a plan.

Myde slowly closed the book he was reading. "Maybe we should run away?"

"To where?" Alana asked. "Who knows how many Heartless there are?"

"Two thousand, five hundred and eighty-four," Thrash replied as he rounded the bookcase. Behind him were five Heartless, all of them Soldiers. He saw that they were all on the defensive. He looked at all of them, his eyes settling on Payge. He smiled. "I'm glad to see you're okay, Warp. I've been worried about you." His eyes shifted to Alana. "I'm glad to see you, too. In fact, I came to pick you up."

Payge charged at Thrash and tried to kick him. He stepped back and she threw a punch. The white-haired man caught her hand with ease and bent it back. Payge cried out in pain and fell on her knees.

"Run," Payge said through clenched teeth. "I'll fight him." She let out another scream when Thrash bent her hand back farther.

"No need to give them foolish ideas," he stated and snapped his fingers. The Soldiers immediately leaped at Myde and Ale.

The boys back away, finding themselves near to Alana. The blonde looked at Payge and back at Alana. He leaned closer to Ale. "You need to get Alana out of her. This guy's after her."

Ale raised an eyebrow. "And you will what?"

"Help Payge," he said, unable to diminish that trail of hope.

"Are you sure?" Ale asked

"Just go," Myde muttered pushing Ale closer to Alana with his arms. He heard a snap and the Soldiers came at them. "Now?!"

Ale muttered something and grabbed Alana around the bookcase and down the aisles. "What about Myde?!" She questioned as yanked her arm away from the redhead.

He looked at her with his green eyes, slightly out of breath. When he couldn't come up with an answer, Alana started to head back. However, Ale grabbed her wrist pulled her back to him. "Myde is trying to help Payge. Right now, we need to get you safe." He looked behind the girl and saw the Soldiers coming closer. "Come on," he said, leading her into a room. He closed the door and locked it.

There was a loud bang against it, then silence.

Ale backed away from the door, examining the room for a window. There was one near the ceiling, but it was too small for someone to pass through. He looked back at the girl. "We need a plan."

_THUMP!!_

"Anytime would be good, Alana," Ale said.

Alana shrugged. "I don't know anything."

Ale thought about the situation, trying to come up with a plan. When he heard a crack from the door, his mind started to race. He paced the room out of his nervousness. "If only I was Axel . . . I could have got rid of them all."

"But you're not."

Suddenly Ale smirked and grabbed Alana by the shoulders, staring into her eyes. "But he's my Nobody, right?"

Alana sighed and averted her gaze. "I don't see how that will help us."

"If you can split me into a Nobody and a Heartless----"

"What?"

"You can reverse the process. Then why not fast forward it?"

"Ale, that was the old me," she muttered. "Besides, the idea is stupid. Supposing you end up being a Dusk instead of 'Axel'. Then what?"

The redhead sighed, thinking about the possibility. Being a Dusk, he realized, wouldn't help them in the slightest. In fact, it could possibly make things worst. "Alana, just have some faith in my plan."

"_Axel said he got a plan and that it won't backfire. So I'll put all my trust and faith in the little stupid redhead."_ Alana didn't know why she remembered that but back then, she had been able to trust him in an escape that nearly destroyed him. And here he was, this time human, asking for that trust. "Fine, Ale. I'll try."

* * *

"They've been in this room," Bane told Thrash when she saw him coming. She had arrived five minutes ago and saw the Soldiers standing outside the dented door. When she had tried to go inside, it was locked. In normal cases, she would have broke it down but she wasn't sure what was on the other side. So, she was glad when Thrash arrived.

"Why didn't you open the door?" He asked as his hand transformed.

"It was locked," she replied, waiting for the door to be broken door. "Where's Warp and Demyx?"

"Unconscious and tied up," Thrash responded and shredded the door to bits. He saw Alana on her knees and hands, breathing heavily as if she was tired and weak. Next to her was a Shadow heartless. There was no Ale. He stepped in and looked around the room. It was only Alana and the Heartless inside. He smirked.

"You're not like your old self," he muttered. "Your normal body can't handle this strain. If you're not careful, you might kill yourself."

_Damn it, Ale,_ Alana thought as she heard the footsteps._ You said not to worry. That everything will be fine. That you'd be able to help us. So where the hell are you? Did I mess up the process? _

"Maybe I should destroy the Heartless," Thrash mused out loud and moved in. Before he could close the gap, a wall of fire blocked his path.

Alana felt someone helping her to stand and saw a redhead with long, spiky hair and a black cloak. She was in a daze, almost sure that this was a dream because it could be him, the guy she had began to dream about. But then she heard him spoke.

"Look at what it's come to," he said, preparing himself for the possible fight. "It's us against your old master." He looked down at the girl and saw the surprise expression on her face. He couldn't help but smirk. "Glad to see you remember me, Alana."

"Axel . . ." Alana whispered. _Why do I feel so confuse right now?_

**A/N: Yes! Axel's back! Hopefully, Demyx will be back too. I've been waiting so long to get to this point in the story because I really miss the Organization. Besides all that, thanks to halfdemon-kai for reviewing. I'll post again sometime next week.**


	7. Chapter 7: Axel and Demyx

**A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated for a long time. Sorry that the chapter is very long. Sorry that the story is now rated 'M' because of possible chapters. Yeah. The reason I haven't updated is because I've been busy the last two weeks. My sister came up, the homework from my classes been piling up (beware of the AP classes), and I was stuck on the whole Axel-Bane fight scene. Just to let you know, I replaced Chapter 2. You know what happens but I added some "blast from the past" moments of Axel and some Alana. The same thing goes for Chapter 1 (no Alana in that one). And I might replace Chaps 3 and 4, adding in some Demyx moments since the original chapters is mostly Myde-centric. Well, anyway, here's the overdue update. **

**Chapter 7**

**:Axel and Demyx:**

Alana focused on the redhead, who was looking passed the flames at Bane and Thrash. He was in the cloak she had seen many times in her dreams. It was the one that mostly Organization members wore. To her that was proof that it was truly Axel.

"Can you stand?" He asked her. She nodded and he let go of her arms. With one hand, he made a portal and with the other, he held his chakram. Then he glanced back at her. _She doesn't look so good,_ he thought as his other chakram appeared. _But she the only that can get to Myde and that girl._ "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she muttered.

"I see you're as stubborn as ever," Axel said. His emerald landed on his Heartless and then on Thrash, who was on the opposite side of the dying flames. Thrash's eyes were on the Heartless and Axel had a feeling it would be a target. "Find them," the redhead told Alana.

Alana nodded and went through the portal, the Heartless right behind her.

"Bane," Thrash said simply, his golden eyes on the blue-haired girl.

"What?"

"Go."

"Why?" Bane whined and grabbed Thrash's arm. His eye twitched but she ignored it and moved his bangs aside. Thrash made eye contact wit her, revealing the frustration he was feeling.

"Just go. I'll fight him and you take care of Alana. Is that really so hard to understand?"

"I want to fight Axel," Bane stated, giving her best puppy-dog eyes at Thrash. "Alana is, after all, your old student. You two should have a reunion or something. Plus I've waited months for this." She wondered if it would even work. To put it lightly, Thrash wasn't so fond of her and Bane knew that. However, she really wanted to fight Axel and she wasn't going to give up the opportunity.

Thrash sighed. "Fine," he said, pulling his arm away. "Fight him." He took off to find Alana.

Bane jumped up and down from excitement, nearly touching the ceiling. "Finally! Let's go, Number Eight!"

Axel almost said "what" but he stepped back when Bane unleashed the first attack. _She's a close-range fighter,_ he thought._ This shouldn't take long._ He extended his arms out and raised another firewall. Axel smirked at the girl.

Bane returned it. "You know, we've all curious about how the great the Organization was."

* * *

"I'm sorry about this," Payge told Myde.

"It's okay," he assured her. "We'll get out somehow."

The two were tied together back-to-back. They had been in this position for awhile; Myde had been struggling the whole time. However, he couldn't get the ropes loose and the two remained on the library floor.

Payge felt Myde trying to untie the ropes again and giggled. "You're always positive, Myde. That's one of the things I . . . kinda admire about you."

She had said this very quietly but the blonde had heard her. He stopped, looked back at her and saw the faint blush on her cheeks. He looked away, blushing himself. "Thanks. You're a very considerate person and that's what I . . . kinda . . . like about you." Someone rounded the corner and he looked up. "Alana?" His eyes moved to the Heartless next to her. "Do you know that there's-----"

"I know," she muttered, placing her hands on the ground. A circle spread out from them, the edge of it barely reaching Myde's feet. Once again, she felt that horrible drain feeling coming back to her.

"What are you doing?" Myde asked.

Should she answer or simply avoid the question? That was what went through her mind as she stared at the blonde. She sighed and shook her head, her eyes returning to the ground. **"Separate."**

Myde didn't understand what was happening. He felt as if his body was being torn apart by force. He heard Payge's voice but soon it was gone, replaced by the silence of the darkness.

* * *

Payge stared at the Shadow that appeared in Myde's place. She looked at Alana, who was barely standing. "What did you do?"

"Demyx," she muttered, slumping against the wall. She slid down it, her slate eyes closing on her.

"Alana?" Because Myde had been replaced by a smaller being, Payge was able to get out of the ropes more easily. Immediately, she rushed over to Alana and shook her. "Alana? Come on, get up." Myde's Heartless and the other one rushed over to the unconscious girl's side. Payge looked at them, wondering who was who.

"She's not going to get up," Thrash said behind Payge.

Payge looked up in alarm and turned toward him. As much as she would have liked to show her defiance, she was nervous. "Why not?"

"The Maiden over exhausted herself," Thrash explained. "Her new body isn't like her last one."

"What do you mean?"

"The heart belongs to Kingdom Hearts but not the body. Kingdom Hearts is just struggling to keep her intact. Eventually, if she keeps doing what she's doing, her very being will be destroyed." He reached out to touch Alana's face but Payge moved in the way.

"I won't let you touch her," she warned, her voice wavering.

"Is that so?" Thrash said, his hand transforming. Payge bit her bottom lip but didn't move from her position. _How badly do I need to hurt her this time till she gets the point? Break her arm? Leg? Neck? _Before he could do anything, a portal opened down the aisle and a blonde in a black cloak walked out, holding a sitar.

The blonde moved toward them, even though his eyes were staring at the books surrounding him. When he was less than five feet away, his blue eyes finally landed on them. "Alana, Payge, bad guy. Nice to meet you all."

"Number Nine, the Melodious Nocturne, right?" Thrash questioned, his other hand already transforming.

Demyx shuddered at the sight."I am but do we really have to fight?"

Thrash replied, "We don't have to. Just let me leave with Alana and that'll be good enough."

Demyx scratched the back of his head. "I can't. Axel would kill me."

"Then we'll have to fight."

"Okay," he said cheerfully but then he got serious. Demyx closed his eyes and strummed his sitar, feeling the music flow throughout his body for the first time in a long time. Tons of water droplets appeared around the Melodious Nocturne and combined to form water clones. He paused in the middle of his playing and then strummed a single chord. The clones charged at Thrash.

Thrash took a few steps back, preparing for an attack. When he was ready, his claws ripped through them.

"I can keep this up all day!" Demyx said as he created more clones.

"Is that so?" Thrash said nonchalantly, his eyes glancing at each one. "How about if you had no arms?"

Demyx winced. "Oh. Then I think that would be a problem."

Thrash smirked and charged at Demyx. Demyx yelped and a clone came in front of him. Thrash ripped through that one and any others that were in his way. Number Nine quickly strummed his sitar and a clone appeared behind Thrash. Before he could attack that one, it grabbed him and swung him back. Demyx grinned and a wave of water crashed into Thrash, slamming him into a bookcase.

_CRASH!!_ Books tumbled off the bookcase and hit the floor.

Payge looked up at the blonde that Artemis had mentioned so much and Bane had praised. In ways he was like Myde; in ways he was different. He was truly the master of water and his Organization title well suited him. The blonde looked back at her and she stared, feeling embarrassed that she had been caught staring.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you . . . And her," he added, nodding toward Alana. His blue eyes landed on the Heartless. "And them . . . I'm not missing anyone, am I?"

She averted her gaze. "No," she replied quietly.

Demyx grinned sheepishly. "I guess that's good. You know, back then I use to keep note of theses things on a piece of paper and when I would forget. . ."

Thrash got off the floor, his suit and his snow-white hair dripping wet. His golden eyes narrowed as he cracked his claws by flexing them. The cracks were loud enough in the empty library because he had the blonde's attention. He ran fast toward Demyx. Before the Melodious Nocturne could react, he bent down low and ripped his claws across his abdomen. Demyx stumbled backward, surprised to see a trickle of blood.

_He barely grazed me, _Demyx thought as he glared.

Thrash cracked his claws again. "I'll rip you apart."

* * *

"Shit!" Axel said as he almost got punched in the face.

"What's wrong, Axel?!" Bane launched a kick but Axel avoided that one as well. The redhead sent his chakram after her but she jumped out of range, right into the fire wall. She yelped in pain and started to blow out the small flame on her tail. By the time the girl looked up, the chakram were whizzing toward her again. One slit her cheek, the other pierce her right shoulder.

Refusing to let him know the pain she was, she held her scream back. She leaped toward, landed, and swung her leg to trip Axel. The redhead fell over and she jumped on top of him, leaning closer to his face. "How's this, Axel?" She asked with a smirk.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames threw her off and she nearly hit the wall of flames again. He stood up, his emerald eyes watching the blue-haired girl on the ground. Bane glared at him through a mass of hair that had fallen in her face, her yellow eyes full of contempt.

Axel smirked. "If you were Alana, I wouldn't have minded much."

Bane got up, examining the fire wall surrounding them. It was losing its flare as the flames slowly died out. She hoped Axel did not notice----if worse came to worse, she needed that escape route. She started to walk near the wall while she watched Axel, who, in return, followed her movements. Then Bane attacked.

Axel rolled out of the way and sent his chakram after her. Bane jumped four feet over them, surprising the redhead. She landed and kicked Axel in the stomach. Then she kicked into the flames. "Fool," Bane muttered. At that moment, a chakram came whizzing behind and slit her cheek. Surprised, she touched it with her fingers and then looked at them, seeing blood on the tips of her fingers. The second chakram came and she moved out of the way. It disappeared into the flames, probably to meet the other one.

_Damn him. Fire can't really kill this nutcase. _

Bane looked around urgently before Axel showed himself. He came sliding toward her, leaving a trail of fire behind him. Bane jumped out of the way.

Axel stopped moving and looked at her. His fingers twitched in a beckoning sort of way. Bane hardly noticed it. Both chakram came out of the flames behind her. She saw them too late. The redhead saw the impact the moment the chakram collided with her shoulders and the blood before she fell on the floor.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames caught his weapons before making them disappear. Then he walked over to the girl. Her eyes were closed as her chest heaved with each breath she took. For now, she couldn't fight. Axel sighed and ran out of the room to find the others.

As he ran through the library, he found he knew where to go even though this was his first time being here. It was probably due to the countless Ale had to come here for reports. He rounded a bookcase and halted.

Axel saw a barrier of geysers. Then he saw Thrash and a teenager, who was no doubt one of them, waiting for it to come down. _Demyx is here, too?_

Thrash was soaking wet and his body bruised all over. The only visible bruise was on his cheek from when Demyx had punched him. He looked around out of boredom and saw Axel. He smirked. "I assume you took care of Bane, Axel. So, is she dead or barely clinging on to life? I believe that's how the Organization does its job."

The geysers came and Demyx was there with Alana and Payge behind him. He was holding his stomach, trying his best to stop the blood flow. However, the blood was getting on the carpet. When Demyx saw Axel, he grinned. "Axel!"

"Where's the Heartless?" Axel asked.

"They have them," Demyx said, pointing at Thrash and the teenager. "Thrash has some weird crystal thing."

Thrash sighed and showed Axel a blue crystal hanging from a black string. As the crystal swayed on the string, it glowed a faint hue and the black mist inside swirled more. "I made it yesterday," Thrash explained. "Looks familiar, Axel?"

"It's like the blue cube," the redhead muttered.

"Wow, you're not as stupid as you look," Thrash said nonchalantly.

"Can we go now?" The teenager snapped, folding his arms. "We have more than enough test subjects and the Heartless is already taking care of Radiant Garden. There's nothing else to do. Unless," he added, "you want the Maiden as part of some sick plan." Thrash shrugged and the teenager groaned.

Shadow appeared. In his arms was Bane. "Gear has a point. Artemis probably wants a full report on the current situation now."

"Probably," Thrash said. "We'll have to do something about Bane. It could actually hurt us if she dies."

Thrash stared at the crystal before chucking it as Demyx. The blonde caught it and stared at Thrash, a questioning expression on his face. "It's for Alana," he said. "She'll know what to do with it." Thrash turned around and started to walk off with the others.

"Wait!" Payge called out and the Experimented stopped walking. Her vice became more quiet and controlled. "Why does Artemis need more test subjects?"

Gear looked back, his eyes reflecting the darkness he was feeling. "He wants to see what the limit is."

"The limit? Since when has he cared about that?"

Demyx frowned and exchanged looks with Axel. From the way Payge talked about it, 'the limit' couldn't have been a good thing. Then again, Demyx decided anything with Artemis could not be a good thing. He glanced at Payge before his blue eyes focused on Gear.

Gear turned around. "Asks Thrash. You know, since Artemis literally kisses the ground _he_ walks on."

Shadow stared at Thrash and the snow-whited haired man nodded. They disappeared into the shadows.

"What's the limit?" Axel asked as he picked up Alana.

"I'll have to tell you later. Radiant Garden is still under attack."

"Of course," Demyx said, creating a portal. The crystal was hanging around his neck for safe keeping. The blonde figured that when Alana woke up, it will be in her possession. At that thought, he looked at Axel. "She'll be unconscious for a while, right?" Nobody asked who----they knew he meant Alana.

"At least a good three days," Axel replied. "Or more."

* * *

Alana opened her eyes. Though it was complete darkness around her, she could still see her hands. She stood up and walked around. Her footfalls echoed and at this she frowned. "Where am I?" Alana asked out loud.

_**Near the dark abyss of your heart. **_

She looked around sharply, trying to see where the voice had came from. However, she saw no one."Who are you?"

_**A part of you that's been sleeping for so long. Until all this darkness came into your heart and soul not too long ago. **_

Alana thought about this and remembered the night Shadow had poured his own darkness into her. Her slate eyes narrowed. "Show yourself."

_**Right here. **_She turned around and saw a hand sticking out of the darkness. Alana approached it. _**Come on. Take my hand. You want to know why you feel so strongly about Axel and Ale. **_

"I don't."

_**You can't lie to me. I know what you're feeling. Confusion. Passion. Love.**_

Alana reached out to grab the hand but hesitated.

_**I'll help you remember everything. **_

Alana grabbed the hand. It disappeared and bright green vines snaked around Alana's wrists and ankles. Her dark brown hair grew longer and her clothes changed into a giant sweatshirt and baggy shorts. She felt emotions taking over: anger, sadness, disappointment in herself for getting caught.

"Apparently she has forgotten her place and needs to be reminded."

"Um, Saix, I think she didn't really know what she was doing."

_That sounds like Demyx._

"She knew well what she was doing."

The darkness cleared and Alana found herself in a white corridor. Axel was there; so was Demyx. There were two others that she didn't know. However, their names came in an instant. Marluxia and Saix.

Saix moved in and her slate eyes glared at the blue-haired man. This wasn't her but it was. It was if she was looking in from the outside but at the same time it was impossible for she was seeing through these eyes.

"I'm going to break her spirit," Saix said and using his claymore, slashed her chest.

There was pain but Alana didn't want to cry out. So she bit down on her bottom lip.

"She'll never have a will of her own." There was another slash on her skin.

"She's pathetic.

"Worthless.

"Her very existence is meaningless."

Saix stopped attacking and grabbed her chin so she could face him. "If you ever try to escape, we will kill you. I will find your master and dispose of him myself. You are nothing but a tool to the Organization and you should know well not to refuse." He let go and walked passed her. She wanted to glare at him but he was behind her and so she couldn't see him.

Alana saw Demyx sighed a sigh of relief and Axel's eyes on her. Marluxia was smirking at her. Alana gritted her teeth and found herself yelling. "If you ever try to kill my master, I'll kill you myself! You hear me, Saix?! I'll kill you!'

There was a silence. A chill passed through her body.

_**You were a fool. Then again, I never once thought you were the better of the two of us. **_

"Damn!" Axel was suddenly running toward her but it was too late.

**A/N: That's it. Hope I don't have many mistakes in there (even though I'm sure I do). I didn't mean for the chapter to get long but the last scene got me going. I realized some time ago that I'm elaborating on the scenes I didn't include but you knew they happened one way or another. Like the last one. And the one in Chapter 2. Just to let you, Alana is still unconscious and she's just reliving them in her mind. Anyway, thanks to halfdemon-kai for reviewing. Hopefully, I can update next week. **


	8. Chapter 8: Another World, Another Time

**A/N: This chapter is way overdue. I'm sorry! Well, here it is. I hope it's good.**

**CHAPTER 8**

**:Another World, Another Time:**

"Hey! It's blue! I do exist!" Demyx pointed at a square. The square contained a picture of his sitar.

Axel raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "What's your point?"

"Well I could have been dreaming but the fact that my square is glowing blue means that I'm alive! Therefore----OW!" Demyx rubbed his arm where Axel had just punched him. "Why'd you do that for?"

"Pain is another way of proving you're not dreaming," Axel explained a smirk on his face.

"A pinch would have been sufficient," Demyx muttered before looking at Payge. She was studying every inch of the Proof of Existence.

Axel and Demyx had came back to the Castle that Never Was, bringing Payge along with them. Alana would have been there but she was still unconscious and laid in Ale's dorm room. The only reason that the three came to the castle was to find the Ansem Reports. Payge had stated that most of most of Dimitri's plans were based off of them. Not only that, Artemis had a few pages in his possession. Whether they were from Ansem the Wise or Xehanort, she did not know. However she believed that she could figure out Artemis's big plan. However the search had been a waste. Someone else had taken them.

Demyx smiled at Payge's inquisitiveness. "Enjoying yourself?"

Payge looked back at the blonde. "I . . . Um, just find this place interesting. That's all." She looked at the floor. "This square's still blue."

Axel looked away from his and stared at Payge. "Which one?"

"The one with the keys," she replied.

"So Roxas is still alive," Demyx said thoughtfully. "I wonder where he is now."

"Wherever Sora is," Axel muttered. He made a portal connecting to the dorm room and walked through it. Demyx allowed Payge to go ahead of him before stepping into it himself. When they reached the other side, they were surprised to see Alana sitting up in bed. Axel took a step forward. "Alana?"

Alana turned and started at the group. "Axel, Demyx, Payge . . . what's going on?"

"Well," Axel smirked. "While you've been out for a week-----"

"I've been out for a week?" Alana said, already trying to get out of bed. Axel came forward and held her by her shoulders.

"Relax," the redhead told her. "Nobody really cares. You're one of the Missing."

"The Missing?"

"It means that they have no clue what happened to you after the Heartless Invasion," Demyx explained. "I'm on the list, Axel is, you are, Zees is, some other students, the lady that runs the ice cream parlor----"

"She gets the point," Axel interrupted. "Now that we don't have college to worry about, we can leave." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pendant with the blue crystal on it. He gave it to Alana. "This is from Thrash."

"I assume your Heartless are inside," Alana muttered as she studied the swirling black mist. She put the pendant around her neck and hid it under her shirt.

Payge turned toward Demyx. "I thought you had it."

"Axel said I was going to break it and took it from me."

"Cause you were swinging it around," Axel said. "I wasn't going to let that happened. What if Thrash put more Heartless in there and you broke it? Then what?" He glanced at Alana and saw the look on her face. He figured that she remembered when he had the blue cube and had been tossing it up and down. He smirked and looked away, having a feeling she knew what he was thinking about.

Alana looked away and turned toward Payge. "Hey, Payge?"

The girl glanced up. "Hm?"

"What are they going to do with the people they've captured?"

"Experiment on them," Payge said darkly, her eyes on the ground. "Test how many Heartless they could be fused with before their hearts break and crumble. Artemis called it the limit. It was something Thrash was curious about and something Artemis wanted to pursue. But I never thought they would . . . actually try it."

"So Zees is definitely one of the test subjects?" Alana asked.

"What difference would it make?"

"Did I miss something?" Alana asked.

"Zees has been working for Artemis the whole time," Axel explained nonchalantly. Alana raised her eyebrows at his calmness. She thought that his friend betraying him would make him upset. Then Demyx came up with the explanation.

"He had a week to get over it." Axel gave the Melodious Nocturne a dirty look.

"I see."

* * *

Thrash was in the lab sitting in a chair. He was leaning over a clipboard, quickly jotting down notes as the time rolled by. He had to get to a meeting in two hours. Although he had ample time, he was stressed out. Even so, anyone walking passed him would not think so. He sighed and leaned backward into the chair. "What to do?"

The experiments had proved one thing: that they needed more test subjects. Most of the test subjects had already broken down into a Heartless and a Nobody, wherever it was. Those with the least tainted hearts broke down after they were fused with more than two Heartless.

The door opened and he glanced to his left.

Bane walked in. She was wearing a jeans skirt and boots. She had no top; only bandages covering her chest. She had thought that would be sufficient enough to walk around in. She approached Thrash. Thrash sat up, wondering why she would want to see him. Before he could ask, she slapped him.

He touched his stinging cheek and wondered if he should attack back. He decided not to and glared at her out of the corner of his eye. "What did I do?"

"You want to use me for an experiment!"

"What would give you that idea?"

Her eyes widened from anger and she tried to smack him again. This time he caught her by the wrist. "Well?"

She gritted her teeth. "Shadow told me everything."

Thrash sighed. "He always talked too much," he said more to himself than to her and looked up. She looked upset yet frustrated and she was constantly biting her bottom lip. He examined her from head to toe, trying to find out what was wrong with her. "You're not acting like your weird self, Bane."

Bane stared at him before jumping on the chair and pressing her lips against his. Thrash was taken back by this. He blinked twice before pushing Bane off him. She fell onto the floor and stared at him. He was tempted to wipe his mouth but didn't bother too. His golden eyes met her yellow ones, trying to comprehend why she did that.

"Don't you feel anything?"

"Like what?" Thrash asked, turning his head away from her and closing his eyes.

"Like remorse for shoving me or anger for me slapping you or even . . ."

He opened his eyes and stared at her from the corner.

"Lust?" She finished awkwardly.

There was a heavy silence before Thrash spoke.

"Was that the point behind the kiss? To see if I have emotions? Or . . . " He pretended to mule the next thought over. "Do you feel lust for me?" He waited for Bane's comeback. She had none.

Bane stared at Trash, not sure of what to do. Then she giggled and then laughed. "Lust?" She questioned the idea as she got up. "You think I want you?"

Thrash feigned innocence. "I said lust, Bane. I didn't say anything about you wanting me." As he had talked, he was jotting things down on his clipboard. He hadn't even looked at her. He sighed. "Anyway, back to the beginning of this mess. If I needed you for an experiment, you would already know. And if I did have the urge to do so now, you talking to me about not wanting to be a part of it would be pointless. You wouldn't have a choice in the matter." He glanced up and saw Bane's mouth opened. "Furthermore, don't worry. I'm just telling you this for future reference."

"You . . ."

"What?" He asked, prepared for the insult.

Her voice trembled. "You're very selfish."

Thrash pretended to muse it over.

-FLASHBACK-

"Have you ever wonder how the heart works?"

Dimitri looked at his colleague, his face showing clear disinterest. "Tell me, Ansem. Does it do something else besides beat and pump blood?"

Ansem and Dimitri were in a lab studying chemicals that had been polluting Radiant Garden's drinking water. Though there were older and more experienced scientists working there, the boss had asked the two scientists, who were only in their twenties and had just finished university, to find out how the chemicals got into the water and their effects on the human body. Dimitri thought the task was simple, easy for people of their intelligence, but a waste of time. Ansem had agreed.

Now Ansem stared at the bottle containing a sample, trying to find a way to separate the different substances. "I meant the intangible heart. I though you were a serious person."

"Funny. I was being serious . . . What is so interesting about the heart anyway?"

"Everything! It controls how a person acts or feels. What if we can stop people from being evil and corrupt? We can change this world . . . and perhaps others that we never heard of."

" . . . I doubt we can change anything. Everything is made out of light and darkness."

"Dimitri, I know this. But if we can cultivate the darkness and turn it into something pure, then we can change everything." Ansem stared at his friend and saw that he was hardly paying attention. If he was, he didn't show it. Ansem sighed. "It may help us figure out this 'maiden' you once spoke of in high school."

" . . . I don't believe in that nonsense anymore."

Ansem sighed. "You're never interested in anything that doesn't benefits you."

"Selfish, some people would say," Dimitri stated, offering the right word.

"I wouldn't say selfish." Ansem saw how Dimitri's face contorted and chuckled. "More like . . ."

-END FLASHBACk-

Thrash smirked. "Not selfish. More like . . . impatient."

"Impatient? More like a conceited jackass!"

"Oh, and just to let you know, you're selfish yourself."

Before Bane could retort, the door slammed opened and Artemis bolted in. "Dimitri! Great news! A test subject is—!" His eyes landed on the extra person in the room. Artemis narrowed his eyes. "Can you excuse us, Bane?"

The blue-haired girl stood there for a while before heading for the door. Wanting to let them know her anger, she slammed the door behind her. Artemis could care less and Dimitri was just annoyed by the noise. They were both more concern about the test subject Artemis wanted to talk about.

* * *

"So," Axel concluded. "We should go there."

"Twilight Town," Demyx repeated, waiting for a reaffirmation.

"Yep."

"Why?" Demyx asked.

"Because," Alana muttered. "It would be safer there because no one would assume we would go there. Plus most of the Experimented are from Radiant Garden and know this place inside and out. Twilight Town is a different story."

"But what about our families?"

Alana sighed and thought about it. She glanced at Axel and saw his emerald eyes were on the ground. A look at Payge told her that she had no qualms about leaving her family. If she had one. Alana realized that she had never asked. Payge made eye contact and Alana stared at the ground. "As far as our families are concern, we're gone. So we might as well just go."

"What's in Twilight Town?" Payge asked.

"The mansion," Alana said softly.

"That wasn't what I had in mind," Axel said as he opened a portal. "But it's better than my idea."

"What was your idea?" Payge asked.

"I was thinking we could go to a hotel, rent rooms----!" He stopped talking when he saw the look on Alana's face. He knew what was running through Alana's mind at this point and he had a feeling that she was not going to share a hotel room with him. Axel turned away and looked at the portal. "But the mansion's a better idea. Come on. Let's go." He walked through and came into the foyer.

Alana, Payge, and Demyx came through and stared at the dust that had collected over the last twenty years. Payge sneezed and Demyx gave her his handkerchief. "I think we have to clean soon," Demyx said as he wiped an armor and saw how much dust was on his gloved finger. "_Real _soon. Oh, I hate cleaning."

Axel stared at the Melodious Nocturne, sensing a whine coming. "We'll deal with that later. As for right now—Alana?" She wasn't standing next to the blonde anymore. He looked around frantically before he saw he standing by the glass double doors.

Alana stared at the doors before gripping the handles. She remembered the first time that she and Dimitri had entered the mansion. She had ran up and down the stairs, studying every inch of the place. Dimitri had laughed for once and said that she was acting stupid. As if she had never seen a house. _"But this one's . . . huge compared to the old house in Hollow Bastion, Master Dimitri," she replied when she noticed the glass doors. _She remembered standing next to these doors and opening them, coming out into a courtyard that only had one huge tree that bloomed cherry blossoms. The pink flower petals had scattered all over the ground. She turned the doorknob and pulled hard on the doors to open them, hoping to be welcome to the same sight.

She stared at the tree, seeing that the tree was now dead and its branches withered. She frowned at this and almost stepped outside. However, she heard her name and turned around. Axel was staring at her, a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay?" Demyx asked. He and Payge was gazing at her too.

"I was just thinking about something," Alana replied, closing the doors behind her as she came back inside.

The blonde looked between the redhead and Alana. _They probably want to be alone right now, _he thought to himself. He grabbed Payge's hand and started to lead her up the stairs. "We're going to check the place for, um, Heartless. Yeah, Heartless! We'll be back soon." Axel gave him 'please don't go' look and Demyx returned it with a thumbs up. At that moment, the blonde couldn't tell that Axel wanted to kill him that instant. He and Payge disappeared into a room upstairs.

"So," Axel started. "We haven't been alone for a long time, huh?"

"I know."

Axel scratched his head, trying to come up a way to spend the time together. "Uh, why don't you show me around this place? Since you lived here and all?" He saw the look on her face and knocked her on the forehead playfully. "Come on. Lighten up. You have to be the most serious person I know."

Alana walked around him. "Fine then. I'll be as idiotic as you."

"Always with the verbal abuse," Axel smirked. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back into an embrace.

The hug caught her off guard. When he place his chin ono her shoulder, she turned her head to look at him, nearly colliding with his lips. She blushed a bit. Nonetheless, her hand reached up to caress his cheek. _I think I honestly forgot how this works. _

Axel stared at her before leaning in to close the distance. _How do I kiss her again?_

"Axel!"

The redhead jumped at the shout of his name and pulled away from Alana. He saw that it was the Melodious Nocturne. The blonde was waving frantically. "I'll be back," Axel muttered, ready to attack Demyx. This time, Demyx realized that the redhead wanted to kill him but denied. When Axel's chakram came out, he ran for it. Axel chased him up the stairs, screaming come back here. Alana shook her head, already feeling their time here couldn't be bad at all.

* * *

"Who are you?!" A girl sat in the cold, iron cage. Though she was in complete darkness, the white hair of the man in front of her stood out so much it was almost scary. Almost. She covered her bare chest from him and looked elsewhere. "What do you want from me?"

"I'm sorry for these horrendous conditions. But you are technically nothing more than a lab rat and rats usually don't get luxury. Still, I'm sorry you have to be in here. So, what do you call yourself?"

"What?"

"Your name."

"It's Chrysanthemum. Chrys for short."

"Okay, Chrys. Is it true that you're a pyro?"

"Why would it matter?"

"There's another pyro we need you to take care of."

**A/N: Hopefully the next update won't take as long. If my classes weren't OD-ing with the homework and I had more time to organize the storyline, this would have been up faster. So sorry if you waited. I replaced Chapter 3 as well. If you want, you could read the Demyx Flashback. It answers the question a reader had: Did Naminé edit Alana's memories to think Demyx and herself had always been friends? The answer is no. Remember that tiny argument they had in Chapter 7 and two weeks later was the escape? The flashback happens during that gap. Anyway thanks to halfdemon-kai and Unylma uv Amasahdc for reviewing. Till later (hopefully next week)!**


	9. Chapter 9: The Struggle

**A/ N: Hey. I updated faster than usual. About a week and a half later. That's not bad considering I usually post a new chap every two weeks to a month. Yeah. Well I hope you enjoy this one. Sorry it's so long! Oh yeah: pun intended.**

**CHAPTER 9**

**:The Struggle:**

-DREAM-

The thirteen-year-old girl knocked on the door of a house in Hollow Bastion. Her parents had wished to come along but she had told them it would have been difficult to let go and allow her learn about her true self.

There was still no answer from whoever lived. She knocked on the door a bit. _I wonder how old this guy is. Maybe he's deaf or he can't even walk. Maybe he's both or . . . Maybe he's in a wheelchair! _Her imagination ran off, coming up with the possible ailments the elderly could have. After a minute, the door opened.

In its doorway was a man with grizzled hair and cold eyes. He held a silver cane which he leaned on for support and a book he was probably reading until interrupted. The man's jaw line was stern and his face serious as he scrutinized the girl in front of him. "Who are you?" He finally asked.

"Um . . . I think I'm suppose to be some sort of maiden," she replied.

The man narrowed his eyes, wondering if the girl was stupid or something. He sighed. "I don't care what you think. What is your name?"

"It's . . . Alana. What about yours?"

"Well?"

"From the moment you set foot into this house, you are my apprentice, my 'trainee', my student. I will teach you what you need to know, what you should learn, what should be your main objective in life. And this is only if you believe what you think you are. Turn back now if you're scared. I don't want to waste time with the foolish incentives of a teenage----!" Alana stepped inside and started to look around it before looking back at him.

"As you were saying . . . sir?"

The man walked passed her without a fleeting glare. "You will address me as Master Dimitri."

-END DREAM-

Alana's slate eyes fluttered open.

"Took you long enough," Axel said from the foot of her bed.

Two days had passed since their arrival in Twilight Town. They had not been doing much except for some dusting in the foyer and other adjacent rooms. At one point they had tried to find the hidden lab but they couldn't locate it. And now that Alana saw Axel, she assumed that they were going to do something important today.

She got out of bed and stretched her arms. "What do you want?" She asked, her slate eyes on him.

Axel stood and walked toward the door. "You and me are going to do some training."

"Training? What for?"

The redhead smirked. "You do realize that you can't fight for your life, right?"

"Well?"

"I need to change my clothes, Axel," Alana finally replied.

Axel walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Alana sat back down on her bed and began to think. _We're already fighting someone again. It never seems to end._

Axel came downstairs and saw the floor of the foyer wet. Then he noticed that Payge was mopping and Demyx was sitting with his sitar on the bottom. Axel immediately made sense out of the situation.

Demyx looked behind him and saw the redhead there. "Hello."

Payge saw Axel and smiled. "Good morning."

"You don't have to clean the house," Axel said to Payge as he sat next to Demyx.

"It's okay. I don't really mind . . . Um, Demyx?"

Demyx sat upright and played a few notes. Hundreds of bubbles floated down from the ceiling and popped on the floor. The water droplets landed everywhere and Payge began to mop once more. The blonde watched her run back and forth in a bizarre dance-like manner with the broom. As much as he hated to clean, he had offered Payge some help with the mopping and dusting. However the girl had kindly refused. Now this was the only way he could help, even if it didn't seem like enough. He sat and watched, waiting to be of use again.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "How badly do you have it?"

"What do you mean?" Demyx asked. He glanced back at Payge.

"You like her."

"We're just friends!"

The redhead was about to question the validity of that statement when Alana tapped him on the shoulder. He got and saw that she was ready to go. "We're going," Axel announced to Demyx and Payge.

Payge stopped working. "You don't want breakfast?"

"We're okay," Axel responded as he made a portal. "We'll see you two later. Oh, and Demyx" Axel couldn't help but grin, "don't do anything I would do."

Demyx was about say something but Axel quickly took Alana's hand and led her through to the other side. Axel then closed the portal behind him and stared at Alana. "What do you think about here for practice?"

Alana stared at the area. There was a big arena in the middle of the place with a few benches around it and posters on the surrounding walls with "STRUGGLE" on them. A big blank board stood off to the side, revealing rankings and records for a sport. "Where are we?"

"The Sandlot," Axel answered. "This is where the Struggle Tournaments are held. Of course, right now it's deserted because all the kids are at school. So we can train here for a while."

"Out in the open?" Alana checked, worried that Axel would use his fire techniques and someone would see them.

"Sure, why not?" Axel said as he tossed her a bat. Alana caught it and noticed that Axel had one too. "Struggle is very simple. You have some orbs, I have some orbs. I hit you, you automatically drop those orbs. I pick them and get points for them. The game continues until I have all the orbs or time runs out. But for the purpose of your training, we'll practice defensive maneuvers. So don't drop any of them." Before Alana could do anything, he attacked.

* * *

"You can take a break," Demyx said.

Payge looked up. "But then I'll never finished today."

"I don't think you would have been able to mop the whole house today."

Payge leaned the mop against the wall and walked over to the blonde. "I guess you're right." She smiled at him and Demyx blushed a little.

He looked away, not willing to stare into her brown eyes. "So, um, what do we do now?"

Payge glanced around the foyer. "Any suggestions?"

"Hold on," Demyx said as he reached into his pocket. He searched a bit before he took out a notebook. He grinned and flipped it open. "Let's see. We can 'cook', 'clean the bathroom upstairs', 'make up the beds', 'find the lab'----"

"Maybe we should find the lab," Payge suggested. "Alana wanted to find it badly."

"That because it belonged to her master." Demyx started to walk up the stairs and Payge followed. They first walked into the White Room. Before it had been gray in color but Payge and Alana had quickly dusted the place on the first day. Once they had finished dusting, it had looked like a place of serenity. Now it reminded Payge of a prison that could drive anyone to the point of isolation.

Payge stepped on a piece of paper and picked it up. She examined it before showing it to Demyx.

It was a picture of a circle with an intricate design in the middle.

"I wonder what it means," Demyx muttered aloud.

"Maybe it's an emblem of some kind," Payge suggested.

"Could be."

"Or symbol of royalty because of the crown."

"Maybe." Demyx paced back and forth in the room, trying to come up with an idea that was plausible. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "I got it! The library! The drawing on the table! I think we need to draw this thingy into the circle!"

"That makes sense. The picture in the library was missing a piece. Alana said so yesterday."

Payge looked at Demyx and Demyx at her.

"Uh . . ."

"Um . . ."

"We should try it out."

Two minutes later, Payge and Demyx were in the library, standing in front of the table. Demyx, being the more artistic one, was drawing the emblem into the circle as Payge waited for Demyx to finish. After what seemed like an eternity, Demyx stood upright. "Done."

The picture started to glow and the floor started to do the same. Payge and Demyx ran towards the wall. They made it just in time; the floor was gone. Now they saw the lab below and the stairs that led down to it. The two looked at one another before descending. The reached the bottom and made a right. They took the second stairs down.

Demyx and Payge came into another room. There was a broken computer and a strange device next to it. Demyx examined the device, staring at the point, thinking it was a torture device of some sort.

"This is kind of unsettling," Payge said as her brown eyes glanced around.

Demyx looked back at her. "So I'm not the only who's getting that 'we're not alone' feeling?"

She nodded her head. "Uh huh."

"Hi there!"

Demyx looked at the other door and saw Bane standing there. With her was Zees, this time not in his shadow form. There was no longer a need to do so.

Bane grinned. "How are you doing?" She looked different now. In her blue hair were brown highlights and her yellow eyes were a slightly more duller color. She seemed more agile and hyper than usual.

Demyx started to back up, making sure that Payge was behind him. "We're great," Demyx said, trying to grin despite the nervousness he was feeling. "How did you know where to find us?"

Zees approached them as a lance appeared in his right hand. "Let's just say our powers were . . . heightened."

* * *

"So we meet again," Axel stated. "This makes me so happy." His emerald eyes followed Dimitri as he paced back and forth. There was a new girl behind him. She had yellow eyes and short red hair. She was standing in the background, waiting for orders.

Dimitri picked up the sarcasm but pretended not to hear it. "Too bad I don't feel the same. Personally, I want to kill you right now. But I'll let Chrys to do it for me. In the mean time," he added. However, he didn't bother to finish the statement. His eyes just landed on Alana.

Alana gritted her teeth and clenched the Struggle bat tightly. Then she thought about what she was up against and stared at the hard plastic object, wondering what good would it do for her.

"You're not going to use that, are you?" Dimitri asked, taking a step toward her but Axel got in the way. Dimitri smirked. "You don't understand. Chrys is your opponent. Not me."

"I'll take you both on. Got it memorized?!" Axel attacked with his chakram. Thrash stepped out of the way and Axel quickly changed directions the moment he landed. He took a swipe at Thrash but missed. Chrys joined the fight and attempted to kick Axel. Axel blocked with his chakram and pushed her away.

Axel's green eyes examined his two opponents. Thrash's hands transformed; Chrys placed one hand on her hip and extended the other, a fireball appearing. Axel charged. Chrys threw it at him. It nearly surprised Axel but he dodged it quickly. Axel noticed that Thrash was below in front. Axel stumbled backward to avoid getting clawed by Thrash but the redhead still got a rip in his cloak.

Chrys jumped up in the air and threw two more fireballs at Axel. Axel threw his chakram, diminishing the flames. Then he stepped out of the way to avoid another one of Thrash's attacks.

_This is getting ridiculous, _the Flurry of Dancing Flames thought as he grabbed Thrash's arm and threw him away just to avoid Chrys's kick. _I didn't think the two of them would be such a pain. _

Not even seconds after that thought, Chrys's fist finally connected with Axel's jaw. Axel flew back. Chrys turned into a shadow and moved above the floor to get under him. She popped out of the ground and kicked Axel in the back. Axel rolled on the ground before getting on his knees. He wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his glove.

The redhead glanced at Alana and saw that she was still clutching onto the Struggle bat. "Stupid," he muttered, wondering why she hadn't ran away yet.

Thrash followed Axel's gaze and saw Alana, remembering that she was there. Thrash turned into a shadow and melted into the ground. He moved along the ground till it was behind Alana and he turned back into his original state. Alana turned around and swung the Struggle bat. Thrash caught it in his claw and yanked, pulling Alana closer. Then he kicked her in the stomach, sending Alana crashing into a wall.

Chrys opened her hand in Alana's direction and fire bombs surrounded the girl. "If you know what's good for you, Axel, you won't attack us. Or else Alana might get blown up."

Thrash raised his eyebrows at Chrys's natural reaction to the situation. "Wow. You're getting good at this."

"Only because I'm learning from you."

"I think you're complimenting me."

Axel looked at Alana and then at his two opponents. _What to do now? _There were only two options: to attack or to surrender, neither of them looking so great for he didn't want Alana to get hurt nor taken away. _Would they even hurt her? _He asked himself. _If Thrash wants her, would he harm her just to get his way? Of course not if he wants Alana to be intact. So that would mean it's okay for me to attack. _He summoned his chakram and set them aflame.

"You wouldn't actually attack us, would you?" Thrash questioned him, showing no emotions on his face except calmness and amusement. "Think about what could happen to Alana."

Axel smirked and threw the chakram at Thrash.

Chrys gritted her teeth. "You leave us no choice!"

Axel's eyes widened; Thrash turned around to look at Chrys in shock; the series of explosions rocked in the background.

Chrys sighed. "Now, Thrash, let's just get rid of Axel and----What's wrong?"

"Are you stupid?" Thrash asked, cracking his claws. "I told you I needed her."

". . . I'm sorry."

Axel looked behind, seeing that the smoke had not cleared yet. When it finally started to dissipate, however, he saw a figure holding a body over its shoulder. "Psst!" It said, trying to get his attention. "Hey, Axel. Come on over here!"

Axel raised an eyebrow at this. "What the hell?"

"I'm trying to help you and Alana. She's alright if ya worried about her."

A new figure appeared in the smoke, this one shorter than the first. It stomped its feet. "So hurry up already!"

"Gawrsh! Do you have to say it like that?"

Axel started to shake his head in denial. "Don't tell me it's----" The redhead started to walk toward the smoke to get a good look at who was talking.

Thrash saw and started after him. Suddenly, he heard "Blizzaga!" and a barrier of ice rose in front of him. The smoke completely cleared and he saw a duck holding a magic staff. Next to him was a tall lanky dog carrying Alana. Thrash was bewildered. "I've seen you two before."

The duck waved his wand frantically at Thrash. "We've never seen you before!"

"You work for that king, right?" Thrash forgot all his anger at Chrys and focused on the new arrivals.

"Um," the dog glanced at the duck. "What should we do, Donald?"

"We have to follow the king's orders even if we have to help him!" Donald pointed at Axel. " . . . Run to the Gummi ship!" Donald took off running. "Come on, Goofy!"

Goofy started and look back at Axel. "You need to come with us; it's the king's orders!"

Axel could care less. However, he looked at Thrash and Chrys on the other side of the barrier; Chrys was already melting it. Axel took off after Goofy. _What's the worst that could happen?_

* * *

Meanwhile, Demyx trying to avoid the lance Zees was swinging at him. The blonde had been waiting for an opening but Zees kept swing the lance around nonstop.

Finally, the lance jumped out of Zees's hand. "Stupid—!" Demyx hit him with a jet-stream of water and Zees hit the already-broken computer. He glanced back at Payge and saw that she was doing alright against Bane, even without her powers.

Payge was dodging a series of Bane's kicks and punches. She had only been hit once; hence why her cheek was starting to swell.

Bane gritted her teeth. "I bet you like this lifestyle don't you! I bet you no longer feel like a freak, right?!"

"Bane, what is wrong with you?!" Payge, asked, feeling worried although now they were enemies. _This isn't like her. Why is she acting like this? _

Bane managed to kick Payge in the stomach, causing her to land on the floor. Payge saw Bane rushing toward her and, after quickly placing her hands on the floor, she pushed herself upward to deliver a double kick. Bane crossed her arms in front of her chest to block the blow and only slid back a few feet. She was about to attack when she felt someone leaning against her back. She turned around and saw blue eyes as she heard a guitar riff.

"Hi there," the blonde grinned. Demyx then slammed Bane with a water blast. He saw Zees standing up and the Melodious Nocturne created water clones. However, Zees turned into a shadow and walked through them. "Oh, why does this always happen to me?" Demyx muttered to himself as he backed up. "Um, Payge?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll meet you in two minutes."

"What are you talking about?" Payge looked behind her and saw a black portal. She hadn't even noticed when Demyx had opened. Payge realized what he wanted her to do and looked back at Demyx with a plead in her eyes. "I can't leave you here to fight them both." Her eyebrows furrowed at the very thought.

Demyx noticed that Bane had recuperated and was getting onto her two feet. "This isn't really my style," he said more to himself than to Payge. He turned around quickly and pushed Payge through the portal.

Payge fell onto a street and saw that she was in a dark city. She looked around before she saw the portal in front of her. She rushed to it, knowing Demyx was still on the other side. However, it closed before she could reach it. _Am I truly alone again? _

She stood up and looked up.

In the horizon was the Castle That Never Was and the deteriorating Kingdom Hearts.

_

* * *

_

On the Gummi ship . . .

"I told to stay away from those controls!" Donald yelled at Axel. For the last twenty minutes, Axel had kept going to the dashboard and been trying to press all the buttons that should not be pressed. And every time the duck had to chase him away. However, Axel did not seem to get it. Or if he did, he was just trying to piss Donald off at every opportune moment.

Axel grinned and walked off to check on Alana. She was sitting down on an in-wall bench, staring out the window at space and observing every planet they passed. When he sat down next to her, she looked at him. He held out a blue ice cream bar to her and she reluctantly took it.

"Thanks," she muttered and licked it. Then she gagged.

Axel laughed at her reaction to the ice cream. "I thought it was too salty at first but then I got use to the taste."

" I see," she replied as her slate eyes concentrated on the floor. Her mind wandered off for a moment or two before it came back. "When we get to wherever we're going, we'll train nonstop."

The redhead raised an eyebrow at her 'enthusiasm'. "Why? Any particular reason?"

Alana sighed and rested her head on Axel's shoulder, surprising the redhead. "I'm just tired of being a liability."

"Funny. I never once thought of you that way."

"Axel . . . that's kind of hard to believe."

**A/N:** **Thanks to halfdemon-kai and Bluebunny2006 for reviewing. I appreciate it a lot. I'll update as soon as possible. I think the next chapter will focus more Demyx than Axel. Eh, probably.**


	10. Chapter 10: The Experimented

**A/N: Sorry that it took so long for an update and that it's long. Anyway, I thought this chapter would focused on Demyx and Payge but it went in a total different direction that I hope you won't mind. Plus there's a cameo appearance of a very much loved character. I don't know if this character would have any significance in the story yet.**

**CHAPTER 10**

**:The Experimented:**

"We really suck at capturing people, don't we?" Zees told Bane. Not too long ago, Demyx had jumped into a portal and went to who knows where. Zees hated the fact that Nobodies could create portals, especially those who were known to run away from almost every fight. Zees looked at Bane, seeing that she was leaning on an empty pod filing her nails. "Don't you have anything else better to do?"

Bane shot him a glare. "Why? You want to check up with Thrash all of a sudden?"

Zees raised her eyebrows at her sudden anger. He was certain that he didn't do anything to her. "Bane, what's wrong?"

"Like anyone would understand."

Zees, running his hand through his jet black hair, already tired of her yelling. He sighed. "Of course not. You're the one keeping your problems to yourself." Zees stopped talking and looked behind him, missing another of Bane's glares. "Hey, Thrash, Chrys, why are you hiding for?"

Thrash and Chrys came out into the open. Thrash's eyes went from Zees to Bane and back to Zees. "I didn't want to interrupt your moment." His gaze landed on Bane again and saw the dirty look she was giving him. _She's mad . . . Probably because they failed their mission. _"It's okay, Bane," he spoke, startling everyone. "We didn't complete our mission either."

"Wow, Thrash. Now you're trying to act so humble."

Thrash's eyes became impassive. "Something else is bothering you?"

Zees folded his arms, confused by Bane's statement. The blue-haired girl seemed angry, perhaps even delusional; the white-haired man was impassive except for the glint in his eyes that was undecipherable. There had been a tension since two days ago but it seemed like it manifested into something else that was driving Bane up the wall. He raised an eyebrow and stared at Thrash.

Bane clenched her fists. "You think you're so perfect, that you've never done a thing wrong."

Suddenly Thrash grinned. "Nothing wrong. More like 'twisted'."

"Like what you ordered Warp to do?"

"Who's Warp?" Chrys asked. She had never heard of her until now.

"Someone who used to be like us," Zees explained. "Until----"

"Until Thrash almost sent her to her death!" Bane interrupted.

Thrash still remained unemotional.

"I did her a favor," he stated.

* * *

Demyx had been running throughout the city and castle looking for Payge. When he finally found her, she was lying down in his old room, labeled IX on the door, clutching a pillow. Her cheek was now swollen and red; he could easily tell from the doorway. He walked in, sat on the bed, and started to shake her gently. "Hey, Payge?"

Payge opened her eyes and saw Demyx. Immediately, she got up and held him.

Demyx was caught off guard, even more off guard by the way her back shook as if she was crying. He couldn't tell though for she had buried her face into his black cloak. "Are you okay?"

She pulled away and wiped away her tears as fast as possible, muttering 'ow' when her hand passed over her swollen cheek. Then she smiled. "I'm just glad that you're here and that you're not hurt." Before she could do anything, Demyx touched Payge's cheek with a light touch.

"It probably hurts a lot," Demyx said, withdrawing himself away from her. He stood and made a portal. "I'll go get you some ice."

Payge watched him go through the portal and sighed. _Great. I'm making him worry for no reason. _

Demyx came back, holding an ice-pack wrapped in a paper towel. He handed it to her and she put it on her cheek, feeling the coldness already. "Right from the freezer," Demyx beamed and then added, "Surprise that it still works. You think that after twenty years it would be broken."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"No problem. So, what's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You can tell me," the blonde assured her. "If you want to." He gazed into her brown eyes, already seeing the thoughts running through her mind.

"I don't know how to explain it. It seems stupid to me sometimes.

"I guess I don't like being alone.

"I remember the flames that took my parents' lives away. I remember walking through my home town that night, abandoned, forgotten, orphaned. I remember a lot of things. Nobody I passed in the streets cared why a little girl was walking by herself without clutching onto a grownup's hand. I found myself at an orphanage the next morning, where I stayed there for eight years.

"Eventually, I left to go see the world for myself. During that time, I realized that stealing was the only way of survival. Because not everyone was kind to a beggar. People have their selfish tendencies when it came to food and money. Could I blame them? Could they blame me? I remember one girl I had asked. Her name was Tiffany. That was what her chauffeur had called her. I had asked her for some money. She had laughed at me.

"One day I was walking through the snow when I saw a man. I stared at him for a while before I walked passed him. Something hit the back of my neck and then I fell unconscious.

"When I woke up, I met Thrash and Bane for the first time. Back then Thrash didn't remember who he was and so he was on better terms with Bane. The others, Shadow, Gear, and Renegade, were in their sleeping states so I didn't meet them for a week or so.

"I found out that Thrash and Bane came from rich families. But it was because of Bane's new appearance that she couldn't see hers and Thrash only living relative died the year before, thus he inherited tons of money. In fact, his relative was on some committee and because of that, Thrash was on it.

"I found out that Bane was trying to give us nicknames. Her real name was Tiffany but she decided to call herself 'Bane' after the experimentations. She even came up with Dimitri's. She said my nickname would be harder. When I found out I could teleport, she settled for 'Warp'.

"And so I spent the last year and a half trying to get to know each of them" Payge concluded. "They were the closest thing I had to a family. We were all dealing with the same problems and I guess I felt at home with them. They took care of me because I was the second youngest. Even when Thrash remembered his past a year after my arrival, he treated me kindly. But now, things are different. The cost of losing my powers was losing my family. And to make things worst, I betrayed them. So I guess Bane had every right to be mad at me and in some odd way, Thrash was justified in nearly breaking my hand. I'm alone again."

"You're wrong," Demyx sand and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, worried that she would cry. "You shouldn't say things like that. They're mad because they wish they had your luck. Maybe they don't want to be what they are anymore. Second, you're not alone. I . . . won't let you be. I came back for you, right?" He added, grinning.

Payge removed the ice-pack from and Demyx could see that the swelling had gone down; it was getting better. Then she hugged him, making the blonde blushed. She didn't notice. "Thank you," she whispered again.

* * *

Donald and Goofy led Axel and Alana down the Colonnade. The hallway was lined with a red carpet with gold trimmings. As they walked on it toward the double doors at the end of the hallway, Alana noticed the tapestries draping from the high ceiling and stared at the columns which looked to be made out of marble. She gazed into the courtyard as the group passed a huge pink door. Goofy was talking.

"You'll like the king," he told them. "He's a kind person." He opened the door and Axel and Alana saw a library. Their eyes followed the books lined on the wall to the fireplace to the paintings to the desk where a mouse sat, probably only half of Alana's height.

"We brought them, Your Majesty," Goofy said as he stood aside so the mouse could see them.

The king looked up. "Aw, you're here!" He left the desk and came out to greet them. "I'm King Mickey. Nice to meet you both."

Alana raised an eyebrow at the king, folding her arms. _I thought he would look a bit . . . taller. Maybe more human-like?_ She looked at Axel to see his expression. He appeared to be taking this in stride, like it was no big deal. _Maybe he's seen the king before. _Alana saw Axel turned toward her and she averted her gaze.

Axel scratched his head and stared at the king. "So why do you want us here?"

"Well," the king started, "this is about a number of things that had happened during the last month and so. Right now, Sora is going around closing the heart of each world."

Axel arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Every since the reappearance of Heartless in Radiant Garden, we've been worried about other worlds," Mickey explained. "The worlds are now connected to one another through a network."

"A network?" Alana questioned.

The redhead looked at her, surprised that she didn't know about it. Axel decided to explain. "About three years ago, a committee wanted to find a way for people to travel between the worlds. The original plan was to create Gummi ships but the king wasn't wiling to give away the blueprints. Then one of the committee asked the king for the keyblade wielder to open the hearts. He said that maybe he could make a passage out of that. The king agreed. No one knew the guy would have actually succeeded though."

Mickey sighed. "I didn't think it was possible. But back then I didn't know we were dealing with someone who could easily rival Ansem in genius."

"Who would that be?" Axel asked.

"Who do you think?!" Donald interrupted the conversation. He was tired standing by the wall doing nothing.

"If it's so obvious then say it," Axel muttered, his emerald eyes on the duck.

"It's Dimitri," Alana answered quietly.

Thrash lied down on his bed. His tie was half-way undone, his suit rumpled, his shirt unbuttoned near the collar. If anyone had entered the room, they would have thought he was tired. He was.

* * *

The committee had, for the last week, been annoying him. They were complaining about the Heartless, claiming they would shut down the network, arguing about what to do with the Missing. He, as the chairman of the committee, had to stop the complaints, convince them that the network was a necessity, rationalize a plan to deal with the disappearances. He had never felt so stressed out. He had kept it to himself, the stress just below the surface. And poor Bane had been taking the blows for it. There was a strange appeal in taking out his frustration on Bane in either taunting or toying.

With that thought, he grinned and closed his eyes.

-FLASHBACK-

"Ansem."

His colleague looked at him. "For once you have a question?"

Dimitri sighed. "For once."

The two were in their fifties around this time, Ansem with a family, Dimitri without. They were studying the heart and its secrets in a lab. Though it was large, it was only occupied by two people. Ansem, who owned it, wanted to find assistants but hadn't had the time to do so. The only plus about not finding any was that with only two people, there was more peace and quiet.

But now, Ansem stared at the man who had broken the silence. "What is your question?"

"Can a heart be extracted out of a body without being tainted?"

". . . Why are asking, Dimitri?"

Dimitri could already sense Ansem questioning the validity of the idea. "If the heart could be removed without problems, then maybe we can turn it into a usable form or," he added, seeing the look on Ansem's face, "place it into a different body." He then realized that he should have said the latter first.

"What would be the point of such a venture?" Ansem stated. "Do you realize what you're saying?!"

Dimitri sighed. "Always with the morality. For once, lose that nobility you have and see it from a different perspective."

"You're speaking nonsense," Ansem replied, resuming his work.

Dimitri saw that the conversation wouldn't get any further. "Forget that I mentioned it."

-END FLASHBACK-

Extracting the heart, what had been the point of it back then? There was none but now someone's heart can be fused with someone else based on the information gathered from the Heartless experiments. The idea presented endless possibilities. He thought of Alana's heart, then of someone else's.

* * *

The king sighed. "I wish I knew what he was planning."

Axel looked at Alana. "He was your old master. Wouldn't you have some idea what he's up to?"

"I don't."

Mickey began pacing the room. "This story may be of some interest to you, Alana."

-STORY-

Riku had never felt so silly in his life. He, a full-grown man, hiding in the bushes at night, following the new chairman of some committee who had recently figured out a way to connect the worlds. This was something a child would do; an adult talked things out. Yet not listening to the king's orders was childish in its own way. Riku had been told not to track the man but here he was behind a bush doing what he was told not to do. _This is perfect_, Riku thought sarcastically as he transferred bushes.

The man stopped walking. "Come out," he said.

Riku's blue eyes widened in alarm. _How does he know I'm here? Did he know all along? _He was about to give away his position when someone else jumped down from a tree near the chairman. It was a girl with round ears, blue hair, and a tail.

"Hey, Thrash, how did you know I was there?"

" . . . I was only assuming, Bane," Thrash said, glancing behind him.

Thrash and Bane moved on, Riku following and listening.

"Artemis is proud of you," Bane said.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. He was wondering how you figured out the whole heart-of-the-world thing even though it was what over two months ago."

"I don't know how. It made sense."

"Are you a genius or something?" Bane asked----Riku could tell it was a flirtatious question expecting a flirtatious answer.

"Yeah. I am."

"Isn't that conceited of you to say?"

"I don't know. Is it better to be honest or fake being humble?"

" , Anyway," Bane said, changing the subject, "does Artemis really know where Demyx and Axel might be?"

Riku was about to change bushes but stopped at the sound of their names.

"I guess so. Or else he wouldn't have had me kill the previous chairman and start this network idea."

Riku narrowed his eyes, remembering how the body had been discovered. Ripped, maimed, torn apart. And the young man was the one claiming to have done it. Who would have guessed that a human was capable of such animalistic behavior?

"Don't you feel guilty?" Bane asked.

Thrash shrugged. "Why does it matter. I had to do it. Artemis' orders." Suddenly he halted and turned around. Riku could have sworn the young man was looking in his direction. Riku held his position as the guy came closer.

Thrash stopped in front of a bush. "You can come out now."

Riku stood up and found himself face to face with Thrash.

-END STORY-

"So where's Riku?" Alana asked.

"He's fine," the king beamed. "Dimitri didn't kill him if that what you had thought. He could have but he didn't. I assumed that he didn't kill Riku because he was curious about something."

"Like what?"

"Riku told me that Dimitri asked him about Xehanort's Heartless."

"Who's Xehanort?" Alana asked.

Axel smirked. "You remember Xemnas right?"

"You mean that's his----"

"That's right."

The door to the library opened and a silver-haired man stepped inside. His blue eyes darted across the room, spotting the redhead and the girl. He came inside to take a closer look. "Axel? Alana?"

* * *

Demyx gave Payge a new ice-pack to put on her cheek. It wasn't as swollen as before but it was still noticeable and Demyx didn't want it to turn black-and-blue. Bane punched pretty hard for a girl that seemed to file her nails all the time.

With that thought, Demyx looked around his old room. "So . . ."

"So . . ." Payge swung her dangling legs as her eyes focused on the ground.

"Want to play a game?" Demyx asked.

"Sure."

**A/N: Thanks to halfdemon-kai and Esinahs for reviewing. Till later.**


	11. Chapter 11: Desperate Measures

**A/N: Sorry for not updating in a long time. Again, another long chapter. Plus the one after this is a Christmas Special which doesn't stray off the main story much. That one is long too. Plus you might be saying wtf about the elf. I wouldn't blame you. Anyway, enjoy getting through both chapters in a day, might even take you two.**

**CHAPTER 11**

**:Desperate Measures:**

Payge stood outside Demyx's room, wringing her hair. There was a small puddle of water next to her already from wringing two minutes straight. She suppose it was one of the consequences for having a childish, but fun, water fight. She had thought it would be fair if they restricted themselves to only water balloons and no weapons. However, it had turned out Demyx had other tricks up his sleeve. His wave left one hallway completely wet. She had wanted to mop it up but Demyx had her waiting for him to change his clothes. He had other plans in mind.

The door opened and Payge saw Demyx in a fresh cloak. His blonde hair still had water droplets in it. "So what do we do now?" She asked.

Demyx became suddenly serious. "I want to infiltrate Thrash's headquarters."

"Um, it actually belongs to Artemis."

"It's hard to remember when Thrash seems to be the bigger threat, calling all the shots the way he is."

"True," Payge agreed. "We hardly seen Artemis in the lab like Thrash is. Bane used to be in the lab too."

Demyx raised an eyebrow. "Him and Bane in the same room together?"

"Uh huh."

Demyx did not know what to say to Payge about the idea. He couldn't see Bane and Thrash, side by side, getting along, working together in peace and harmony. If he ever saw that, it would ring an alarm in his head that something was wrong. Very wrong. "Um, if you say so."

"It's a long story. Anyway, you really want to try to sneak inside?"

Demyx nodded. "We could find out what they're truly up to, what their goals are. 'They' meaning Artemis and Thrash . . . do you want to come?"

"If you want me, too," Payge said looking at the floor. "Then again, I wasn't sure how you were going to get there without direction."

* * *

Riku was looking for Axel and Alana. He was getting use to the idea of seeing them again, Axel with his smirk and Alana without aging a day. He figured that he could adjust during the mission that the king had just asked them to do. They had to go to Wonderland because Sora was handling business elsewhere, Transverse Town to be specific. Riku walked outside and saw the two in the garden.

Axel was moving forward, swinging his chakram at Alana. Alana was backing up, dodging in each step. Axel smirked. "You're doing better than this morning, Alana! How long can you keep this up?!"

At that moment, Alana stumbled backward. Riku didn't know how but Axel was behind Alana and had caught her, now easing her to the ground. "That was very smooth of you." Alana shot him a glare but the redhead ignored and kissed her on the forehead. When Riku saw Axel was about to kiss Alana on the lips, he loudly cleared his throat because he didn't want to be caught staring. The two looked at him.

Alana quickly stood. "You need something, Riku?" she asked, trying to brush off what had just happened.

"The King wants us to go to Wonderland. We need to seal the keyhole before there's a Heartless Invasion there."

_

* * *

_

Radiant Garden . . .

Demyx and Payge stood on a cliff, glancing down a chasm. Demyx was glad it was a large one because the sunlight reached down at the bottom. "It's here?" Demyx asked, preparing to go down. He could have teleported but he figured it would be more fun climbing down. Plus, there was no real reason to rush.

Payge nodded, already climbing over the edge. She had never climbed down before; she had always warped herself by the entrance. Now she saw how high above the ground she was.

Demyx noticed her slight apprehension and asked, "You want to go through a portal instead?"

"I'm okay," she told him, her brown eyes only on the rocky wall in below them. She took a deep breath and carefully descended down the side. Demyx started a second later. Suddenly she heard voices and stopped to glance down. She almost freaked out when she saw the drop but Demyx calmed her down. She relaxed a little though her hands didn't. She slowly looked down and saw Gear, Zees, and another.

"This is stupid," Zees's voice echoed. "Why doesn't he go do it?"

"Because," gear explained, "Thrash has other work to do. He doesn't have time to waste looking for materials for his new invention."

"What is it suppose to do?" The new girl asked.

"Who knows?" Zees said. "Maybe it's for Riku. I eavesdropped on one of his conversations with Artemis."

"And you didn't get caught?" Gear inquired.

"I did. Jus that Thrash didn't care. And tell my why Bane can stay?"

"Because Bane doesn't care what Thrash tells her," Gear replied.

"Doesn't Bane hate him?" The girl asked.

"I don't know. They use to get along till . . ." Their voices disappeared as they got further away.

Demyx let out a groan. "Oh, why are Thrash and Bane still inside? They'll murder us."

"Don't worry about it," Payge said. "If we do everything fine, then we'll be----!" Payge slipped and fell off the cliff. Demyx, due to some quick thinking, opened up a portal and made another by the ground. Payge fell through the first one like he had planned. She came out of the second one and safely hit the ground. Demyx made a portal for himself and appeared next to her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm alright." She stood and walked over to the entrance, still shaken up. "I, um, need a code," she told herself to get her mind off the fall. _I hope they didn't change it._ She inputted something into the keypad next to the door. Immediately it read 'access denied'. She tried another one but it didn't work. She looked back at Demyx. "What do we do now?"

"What's Artemis's favorite color?"

Payge giggled. "I don't think anyone knows that."

"His birthday?"

"He never told us." Payge turned around and entered another code. This time the door opened.

"What did you---"

"Bane's birthday. The last password was mine."

"Why'd they made it so easy?" Demyx asked. Payge shrugged.

They walked inside and started down the hallway. The interiour contrasted greatly with the rocky outside. The floors were tiled and there were lights every foot on the ceiling. Demyx scanned around the hallway eyeing each door, expecting something to jump out. "We're going to the lab?"

"I'm pretty sure that's where everything is." She stopped by a door and took a deep breath. "This should be it. I hope no one is in here." She turned the knob and pushed the door in. There were fluorescent lights, giving the room a blue tint and many vials placed on racks. The racks were arranged in rows, making the room seem very organized. "Um, I don't think this is the lab."

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Payge heard the footsteps and grabbed Demyx's gloved hand. "Someone's coming," she stated, her explanation as to why she was tugging him so hard into the room. Quickly, but, silently, she closed the door. She pressed her ear to the metal and listened. "That was close," she whispered. Payge turned around and saw Demyx studying the vials. He picked one up and read the label out loud.

"Test Subject 18 ---- Success ---- Warp." The blonde held it up to the light. "Is this a blood sample?" He couldn't tell because it was too dark to be blood. Then again . . . He thought about Renegade, the person that Thrash had mercilessly killed. Another reason not to deal with the guy.

Payge looked around the room and picked up another vial. The liquid inside was a shimmering white with tints of black. To make matters worst, it glowed as if it was radioactive. It almost made Payge but it down. However, she held it longer to read the label. "Giant Body?" She put the vial and picked up another one. "Are these Heartless serums?"

"Is this how they've been . . ." Demyx's voice trailed off when he saw the label on the one Payge was holding: Search Ghost. His eyebrows popped up when Payge pocketed it. "You're not going to---"

Payge shook her head. "It just might come in handy." She moved to a different part of the room and found papers scatted all over a table. She picked one up. " 'It is my duty to expose what this darkness really is. I shall conduct the following experiments: extract the darkness from a person's heart, cultivate darkness in a pure heart, both suppress and amplify the darkness within . . .' "

Demyx quickly walked over and picked up the other papers. "These are the Ansem Reports."

* * *

"Bane, will it kill you to shut up?" Thrash muttered, his golden eyes on the girl.

She gritted her teeth, revealing her pointy canines. "No. Not after when you didn't listen to me.. I told you I didn't want to be included in any of your experiments." She was referring to what had happened a couple of days ago.

"And I said some time before that you did not have a choice." His eyes narrowed when Bane approached him. He stood and Bane suddenly halted. Thrash decided to close the distance between them. His gaze was cast downward. He supposed him being five inches taller was an intimidation factor for the determination she had was gone off her face. However, he didn't want it to disappear; he wanted to provoke her, rile her up, make her angry. "You're not backing down, are you Monkey Girl?"

It was a deliberate insult to her obvious Heartless characteristics, something that had been bothering Bane for as long as she could remember. And he knew it. She clenched her fists. "You're such as jackass!"

"And you're a bitch." Like he had expected her to, she tried to slap him. Without difficulty, he caught it with ease. "Your movements are predictable," he commented, squeezing her wrists.

Bane felt the jab of pain and attempted to kick him. Thrash dropped her wrist to block, already knowing her strength. He then pulled her closer and punched her in the stomach. She doubled over and Thrash turned his back on her. "You really can be such a stupid—!" He heard movement and turned around. Before he could react, Bane tackled him on the ground. Her hands had his wrists while her legs were on either side of his.

"What are you going to accomplish from this?" Thrash asked, his voice impassive now.

"I'll, I'll . . ." Bane didn't know what to say. She hadn't thought that far. Apparently there was nothing more she could do in this pin. She could try to punch him but, now that he was agitated, he would attack her with his claws. Between a Wight Knight and a Powerwild, she didn't know which one was better to be.

The door opened and Artemis came inside. He stared at them for a good second before he stated, "I need to talk to Dimitri. Bane, leave the room."

Bane growled and got off Thrash. She walked around Artemis instead of doing what she felt and ramming into him.

"Tiffany."

Bane stopped at the sound of her real name and turned around. Thrash was standing there, brushing himself off and getting the wrinkles out of his suit. Bane swayed on the spot, knowing Artemis was waiting for the transaction to take place. "What is it?"

"Nothing really," Thrash said nonchalantly. "Just that you shouldn't be acting so reckless. Bad things could happen whether you plan it or not."

"Is that a threat?!" She was heading toward him when Artemis stepped in her way.

"Bane, just leave," Artemis said sternly. "I don't have time for your childish games."

Bane, feeling there was nothing she could do, left the room.

* * *

Riku had just taken them into Wonderland's Lotus Forest when they were surrounded by one hundred Heartless, possibly more. Riku summoned his keyblade and Axel summoned his chakram. The guys looked back at Alana. "Well," Axel smirked, "What are you going to do?"

Alana looked at her hand. After a few seconds it glowed. "What do you think?"

Riku grinned and looked away, his eyes landing on a Heartless jumping at him. He held his stance and slashed at the creature. It dissipated and a heart was released. Before any more could close in on them, he ran into the crowd and started swinging his keyblade around. Axel took off in the opposite direction and threw his flaming chakram into the pack. He grinned and created a moving firewall.

Alana turned around and saw the Neoshadows behind her. Swiftly, she reached inside of one and crushed its heart. The creature immediately dispersed into tiny particles before evaporating. A Neoshadow jumped in the air, became as flat as a disk and starting spinning toward her. Alana ducked out of the way. The Neoshadow stopped spinning in midair, its yellow eyes on her. Alana waited for it come back down.

"Alana! Behind you!"

Before she could see, she felt something cut her arm and saw a flash of black at the corner of her eye. At her time of distraction, the Heartless in the air came back down toward her. Alana braced herself for impact.

Riku leaped up and cut through the Neoshadow. Axel quickly threw his chakram at the Heartless that had cut Alana. Axel landed next to her and smirked. "What would you do without me?" Alana pulled Axel aside and passed her hand through a Heartless, crushing its heart.

"Don't get overconfident," Alana muttered. She looked behind her and saw Riku had joined them. "How long do you think this would take?"

"Hopefully not long," Riku said.

"I can do this all day," Axel said.

The fight did not take all day like Axel had hoped. Only forty minutes had passed when Riku slew the last Heartless. Axel was hunched over, breathing heavily. He glanced at Alana, who was on her knees. She lost her balance but caught herself with her hands. Axel raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great," she muttered.

Riku found that it was not easy catching his breath. He glanced and saw that Axel was sitting on the ground. "Axel, you want to stay here with Alana? I need to find that keyhole and seal it." Riku turned around and saw a man walking out from behind a tree.

"I can't let you do that," the guy said with an uneasy grin. "I have to protect it so Artemis will give me the cure. Even without an army to support me I'll defend it."

"Army?" Axel repeated. "You sent those Heartless after us?"

"I had no choice. I don't want to be like the others." He moved closer but the stopped and gripped his sides. He fell onto the floor and writhed in pain. "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

Alana's eyes opened wide when he saw that his skin was changing colors and that his body was stretching and elongating. The man's pupil disappeared in a vast sea of yellow. He became twice his height when his screams subsided. He stood up, now looking more like a Heartless than a creature. His skin turned black and yellow rings appeared on his head and body. Suddenly two sticks appeared in his deformed hands.

Riku stared at the Heartless. "A Trickmaster?"

* * *

Demyx was studying the Ansem Reports when he heard a door opened and shut. "Payge?"

"Yeah?" Her voice came from the other side of the room.

"Never mind," he replied, walking along the aisles to find the door. He start he saw a movement behind something and ran around the corner. Before he could see the person, an arm came flying into his face. He fell backward, landing painfully on his back. He looked up and saw Bane. He grinned sheepishly. "Hello?"

Bane attempted to punch him in his face and Demyx rolled out of the way. He got on his feet and started to back away.

"Don't be mad, we were just about to leave," Demyx said. He was about to add something when she jumped up and tried to deliver a double kick. He quickly blocked it and pushed her away. She skillfully landed on her feet. Then she charged again and attempted a high kick. Demyx quickly blocked it. Bane twisted her body in the air and kicked the blonde in the side. He flew into a rack of vials.

Payge appeared from behind a rack and saw Demyx on the ground. "Demyx!" She was about to run to him but Bane cut her off. She was sure Bane was aiming for a high kick from the side but Bane caught her off guard with a blow to the stomach.

Demyx got up and rammed into Bane's side. The blue-haired girl stumbled and nearly lost her balance. The blonde had his sitar out, ready for the challenge. "Alright, Payge?"

"Yes, thank you," she said, holding her stomach. Her brown eyes landed on Bane. Her eyes widened when Bane leaped forward. Demyx quickly stepped in front and, strumming his sitar, he struck her with a blast of water.

Bane expected to be slammed into the wall at full force but she found herself against something soft. She heard a single statement: "You truly are a foolish woman." Bane looked over her shoulder and saw that it was Thrash who had caught her.

Demyx held his ground, feeling Payge's presence by him. The Melodious Nocturne was ready for a fight if he had to give one. This time, he wasn't going to run away. He wanted to prove to Payge he was strong and reliable. Not only that, but that he was brave, too. So it was natural that he wasn't prepared for when Thrash said, "Run along."

"What?" Demyx said.

"I suppose this is the part you run away, right?"

Demyx narrowed his eyes. "I'm not running away this time."

"Look. I'm in a generous mood today. So you can escape and try to figure out with your lack of intelligence what I'm up to. As of right now, you're not a threat nor of importance. Of course we could fight but it won't end well for Payge."

Demyx's glare darkened at the threat. He glanced back at Payge and his expression softened. He then made a portal. "Payge, go through."

"You're not going to---"

"I won't. I'll come right after you." Payge nodded and walked into it. Just as he promised, as much as he didn't want to, he walked through and the portal disappeared.

* * *

King Mickey paced in the library as he thought about Riku's report. "How can this be possible? I thought that Trickmasters were rare and nearly impossible to find. How did they get that technology?"

Riku shrugged. "I wish I knew. It would make things easier. Imagine if there were more of them in the other worlds. Sora might need help."

Mickey nodded in agreement. "Maybe you, Axel and Alana should check up on him."

"I think it might just be me this time. Axel and Alana probably have other plans."

**A/N: Yep. Riku sets the stage for the next chapter. Did you realize that Chapters 9-11 take place in a day? I just noticed. Anyway, thanks to halfdemon-kai for reviewing last chapter. Christmas cookie to you. Since I'm not going to put an Author's Note in the next chapter because it's longer than this o ne: Happy Holidays!**

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	12. Chapter 12: It's Christmas

**CHAPTER 12**

**:It's Christmas:**

-FLASHBACK-

"Damn it," Dimitri muttered as he got his face out of the snow. He looked up at the girl who had avoided the tackle out of luck. She stood less than a foot away from, peering down as if she was the superior one. Dimitri groaned as he tried to get up. This was the last time he would do favors for Artemis. What was the point of capturing this girl? Was it because her family had money? Didn't Artemis have enough?

"Did you trip or something?" The girl giggled. Her hands were on her knees as she bent over.

The girl had dark tan skin and wavy black hair. She wore an expensive white fur coat opened despite the cold weather. Therefore her even more expensive blue dress was visible. Her hazel eyes met his golden eyes. She grinned. "If you did, that was rather clumsy of you. Will you . . . do it again for some money? It was rather entertaining."

Dimitri got up and brushed the snow off his coat. "Aren't you a spoiled brat?"

"Me?"

Dimitri sighed, wondering if the girl was this stuck up. If Artemis had not asked for this particular girl, he would have left and found someone else more tolerable. There were others who were rich and were heirs and could support the research they were doing.

"I think I've seen you before," the girl contemplated.

Dimitri raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

"Oh, now I remember! You're the genius who made that network thingy a month ago. My family funded the research, though my father was skeptical at first. But I thanks to you, my father can take me all over to new worlds. Not too long ago I went to Transverse Town. Met some little beggar girl there-----"

"Are you Tiffany Maxwell?" Dimitri asked. He knew the answer but he didn't want to hear her continue about her expensive life.

"Of course I am," she said proudly. "You can't be from around here if you don't know that already."

"Conceited, too?" He muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

"You're rude, aren't you?"

"To some extent, yeah, I am."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Honesty is supposed to be a virtue."

Tiffany stared at him for a minute before saying, "You're weird. I'm leaving."

"Wait."

She stopped walking and turned around.

Dimitri looked around, checking to see if anyone was around. He doubted there would be anybody after midnight unless you they were leaving the Christmas Opera playing in the theater nearby. Now that he thought about it, she probably left it because it didn't entertain her enough. That worked in his favor pretty well. It saved the trouble of finding her. "Do you have a bank account or vault around here?"

"Why?" She gasped when she saw his hand turned into a grotesque claw.

"You need to withdraw whatever's in it," he said impassively. "If you scream at any point, I'll kill you." Dimitri had been thinking ahead. He already knew that once he received the money, he had to deal with the girl. And there was only one thing to do with her.

-END FLASHBACK-

Thrash opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. "Bane, what is your problem?"

* * *

Axel stepped out of the portal and looked at the snow-covered trees, the snow-covered ground, and the snow-covered sign bedazzled in candy canes. "The old guy had to come here."

Alana came out of the portal wearing a coat. "He's trying to help Santa this year." She involuntarily cringed. She sounded out of place just by saying that foreign word. _Santa._ In Radiant Garden, she had never celebrated Christmas because it wasn't a world holiday. Hell, she didn't know such a thing exist until college when Radiant Garden University was accepting students from all over. Even then, she didn't get the purpose of mistletoe or the giving out of presents.

The wind blew and Alana shivered.

The cold suddenly made her care less for snow. "Let's find Santa's house," she said, cringing because it sounded reminiscent of an eager child. Axel raised an eyebrow, either because of her expression or the fact that she almost sounded happy. Alana started down the hill. "Merlin should be there."

Axel and Alana walked under a sign overhead that said "Christmas Town" in big white letters. Then they saw a carousel which, to be in the middle of the town, had to serve some purpose. Just beyond it was Santa's house.

Axel walked up to the door and knocked on it. A second later, an elf opened the door. The redhead had to looked down to stare at the little guy. "Where's Santa?"

The elf folded its arms. "None of your business, shorty!"

"Shorty?" Axel looked back at Alana in disbelief before he laughed. Suddenly, the elf got upset and kicked Axel hard in the shin, the only place he could reach. Axel started hopping around on one leg. After the pain subsided, Axel gathered fire in his arm.

"Axel," Alana warned.

Axel glanced back at her and sighed, getting rid of the fire.

"If you can't tell us where Santa is," Alana began, "Then bring him out here."

"Argh, Santa's too busy to see an old hag like you!"

The elf stared defiantly.

Alana looked at the Flurry of Dancing Flames. " . . . Axel, burn him."

No sooner than when she said that, an elderly man dressed in blue robes and a pointy blue hat came to the doorway. He had a long gray beard and glasses. He frowned when he saw Alana and Axel. "What's going on?"

"We're looking for Santa," Alana replied, her eyes on the elf. "We believe he knows where Merlin is."

The old man smiled. "I'm Merlin. You need me for something?"

Axel took a step forward. "She does. She wants to learn magic." He wanted to tell Merlin about Alana's reason. That the more she used her Maiden powers, the weaker her body became. This discovery was made during the battle against the Trickmaster. Alana's body had unexpectedly crumbled under the stress, becoming partially paralyzed. He wanted to tell Merlin but was reluctant. After a while, he decided against it.

"What's your name?" Merlin asked, directing it to the brunette.

"Alana."

"You want to be my apprentice, Alana?"

"I guess so."

"Then you have to pass a series of trials."

Alana raised an eyebrow. "What sort of trials?"

* * *

At the hidden lab, Thrash was knocking Artemis's door. A minute later, the blonde man finally opened it. He raised his eyebrows. Thrash was dressed in ordinary clothes tonight. Instead of his usual suit, he was wearing jeans and a button-up shirt. He looked average instead of important and pompous. Artemis sighed. "What is it?"

"We're having a . . . party," Thrash finally explained, not sure what to call it. "I figured since everyone was coming you might as well come yourself."

"I'll skip. I'm too busy studying the research you've been working on. To be honest, I'm impressed by your findings. I knew you were a prodigy from the day I met you. That's why I had to have you as my apprentice from day one."

"That's nice to know," Thrash commented as he walked away. "I'm going to the lounge. I need to do the finishing touches."

"Finishing touches?"

"Yeah." _Why am I doing this again?_ He asked himself. _There's no legit reason. I must be bored or something._ He reached the lounge and stared at it. He had about fifteen minutes before everyone else arrived. Worried because of the time constraint, he rushed. He managed to finish two to eight and waited outside the hallway for everyone.

Zees arrived at the lounge first. He peered into the room before turning toward Dimitri. "What the hell did you do?" His golden eyes wondered from the decorated pine tree to the red and green decorations to the food on the center table. He looked back at Thrash who hadn't bothered answering. "Seriously, what did you to the lounge?"

"Nothing . . . Merry Christmas," Thrash muttered.

"What's Christmas?" Zees asked. Again Thrash didn't answer.

Chrys and Gear came into the room one at a time. Chrys was in awe while Gear examined in curiosity. Suddenly, Chrys turned around to look at Thrash. "You did everything by yourself?" When he nodded, she grinned. "What for?"

"Something called Christmas," Zees replied. "Whatever that is."

Gear took off his goggles with his Heartless hand and cleaned it with his shirt. "Christmas is holiday celebrated in Christmas Town. On this day, people hand out presents to others, sing Christmas carols, and wait for Santa to come. As I said, the holiday is celebrated in Christmas Town so I don't comprehend why someone from Radiant Garden would bother celebrating it." He put the goggles back on and adjusted it on his head. The teenager glanced back at Thrash. He was standing outside as if he was waiting for someone.

Finally Thrash saw Bane coming down the hallway. She looked at him for a second before proceeding to enter the room. Thrash waited for the desired effect. Less than five seconds later, Bane stopped in the doorway. He went to stand next to her and noticed her surprised expression. "Is something wrong? You don't like it?"

Bane looked at Thrash, halfway in between smiling and gaping. "Nothing. I'm just a little bit surprised." She looked up and blushed. "You even have mistletoe."

Thrash shrugged nonchalantly. "I've heard that some people put it up during this holiday."

"Oh." _He doesn't know what it means then_, she thought._ So I don't have to worry about being embarrassed in front of everyone._

"Aren't you going to kiss her, Thrash?" Gear asked. When Thrash had a puzzled look, he elaborated. "That's the tradition. Two people stand under the mistletoe and are suppose to kiss."

Bane blushed when Thrash stared at her. She didn't know why but her heart was pounding. She averted her gaze and looked at the floor, swaying back and forth on the spot. _Do I want him to kiss me?_ She stole a quick glance at him. _He's just standing there with a blank expression. What is he thinking?_ The scent of his cologne got stronger and she realized that he had leaned in. She gazed at him, waiting for something.

Thrash sighed and pulled away. Then he walked inside the room. "I'll pass."

Bane stood there dumbfounded. "You're serious?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

Bane let out a sigh, feeling partially relieved and partially disappointed.

* * *

Axel and Alana have been in the house for half an hour already, sipping hot chocolate. They watched Merlin use his magic to put presents inside of boxes while other elves did the same thing with their strength.

Axel wondered why Merlin needed to test Alana. To see if Alana could get out of the tests, he had told him who Alana truly was. However, Merlin claimed it didn't make a difference; it made it all the more necessary. He wanted to be sure she was worthy and reliable---after all, she was the apprentice of Dimitri. Apparently, Merlin wanted to make sure that the fruit _did_ fall far from the tree. Alana, believing it was fair enough, accepted the trials, not caring that she had to be turned into different animals to learn different lessons. The redhead wondered how long the trials were going to take. Axel had asked the King to locate Demyx and Payge so he wanted to be there when they arrived.

"Axel?"

The redhead looked at Alana and saw her holding a bag of marshmallows out to him.

"You want some?"

"Yeah. Thanks." He took some and dropped them in his hot chocolate. "When do the trials start?"

"Tomorrow."

"I see." Axel studied Alana. He noticed that her hair had grown longer since their first encounter a couple of months ago. Before, it had barely reached her shoulders. Now it was almost halfway down her back. It was how she had her hair back then. Back then, they had made all sort of promises, most of them unspoken. He smiled as he thought of the future. "You know, I can't wait for this to be over." He expected her to say something along the lines of "what do you mean" but she said something else:

"Me too." She frowned when she saw Axel's expression. "What?"

Axel smirked. "It's nothing. I'm just being myself." _I wonder is she really knew what I was talking about, _Axel thought.He then looked around and saw the elf from earlier on. The elf was glaring at him as helped pack presents in the sleigh.

Suddenly the elf started to sing as he glared:

"He sees you when you're sleeping

He knows when you're awake

He already knows that you've been **bad**

So for you, it's just too late."

Axel raised an eyebrow at the accusing elf. The elf's lingering gaze was still on the redhead as he continued singing.

"You can't watch out

But you can go cry

It's all your fault

And I'll tell you why

Santa Claus does not like **NAUGHTY** kids!"

The elf gave a loud cackle at Axel's expression. Suddenly Santa Claus called him:

"Kreacher, can you help Lily load that heavy present into the sleigh?"

The elf looked in a different direction and started walking off. "Yes Santa."

Axel's left eye twitched slightly. He soon realized that elf was going to be around here for a long time.

* * *

"So they already left?" Demyx asked King Mickey. He and Payge had just arrived at Disney Castle. Goofy and Donald, based on Axel's suggestion, decided to check the World That Never Was. Sure enough, both of them had been there. Goofy had explained the situation to the two and brought them back as quickly as possible. Now, the blonde stood in the library with Payge and the King, wondering where Axel ran off.

"He and Alana went to go see Merlin," Mickey explained. "Axel thought it would be best for Alana to learn magic instead of relying on her maiden abilities."

"When will they be back by?" Payge asked quietly.

Mickey scratched his head. "I don't know. Maybe in a month's time."

"A month?" Demyx repeated. He sighed when Mickey nodded. "This is great. I wanted to ask Alana something."

"What do you want to know?" Mickey asked. "Maybe I can help you."

Demyx thought it over. "Well, I wanted to know if Dimitri met Xehanort at one point."

"Considering that Dimitri knew Ansem the Wise, he probably knew about Xehanort. But I don't know if they've ever talked though."

Demyx sat down in a chair in the library and removed the Ansem Reports from his pockets. He stared at them before saying anything. "Dimitri seems to understand all of Xehanort's designs and stuff. I don't so I can't say for sure. But he's planning something with a machine that has many compartments. On top of that, he was reading Ansem Report . Me and Payge been thinking about this but we don't see the connection."

* * *

In the lounge, Thrash went to the tree and came back with four presents in his arms. Zees's eyebrows furrowed when Thrash tossed him one. Zees was even more surprised when Bane received a gift. "Okay. I got over the room thing. But why the hell are you so generous for? Did you get knocked over the head?"

Thrash headed to the door. "It's midnight so it's Christmas already," he called out. "So just open your present and stop complaining. Good night."

He walked down the hallway, his mind elsewhere. In his old life, he had spent every December 25th doing research or an experiment of some kind. He never wasted time on subtleties such as parties and holidays. Even when Alana became his apprentice, he trained her every day of the year unless there was good reason not to. She never complained about it though; that was one thing he appreciated about her. And she was a quick learner. The only thing that was difficult for the girl was learning how to put up barriers around her heart. He wanted it to be second nature to her.

He turned around and saw Bane. In her hand was a diamond necklace. "If you don't like it, you have the receipt to return it."

Bane approached him. "That's not it. I like it a lot. Not because I'm spoiled or anything like that!"

"I didn't say you were."

"I know. I'm just saying incase you were thinking that. Thank you." Before he could say anything, she turned around and walked away.

Thrash grabbed Bane by the wrist and pulled her into a kiss. He didn't know how something only a few seconds could last so long. He pulled away. "That was for the mistletoe," he explained.

"Wow, you really are the stoic type. There was no emotion behind that kiss. When----!" Dimitri silenced her with another kiss. This time there was nothing she could complain about. Bane gripped the back of his shirt, hoping he wouldn't pull away. At the same time, she hoped she was not coming off as desperate. Regardless of her wish, he pulled away. For the first time in her life, she saw him blushing.

"You know that meant nothing, right Tiff?"

"Well, of course I know that."

"Is it possible to have my shirt back?"

"If you'll let me have my waist back, yeah I'm sure it's possible." _He called me by my real name, _she thought as she let go of his shirt and felt the pressure on her waist go away. _If he ever kissed me like that again, I'll love him. Why did he kiss me again anyway? Where did all that passion come from? _She stared at his retreating back. Soon she found herself calling out his name.

He stopped and looked back at her.

She wanted to say something but it was on the tip of her tongue. Finally she found the words. "Thank you."

"I told you it was no problem."

"No, Dimitri. For everything tonight . . ." There was a small silence. "Doesn't this feel a little awkward?"

"A little," Thrash admitted. He was surprised by what he said. It was then he realized what was going on. Then he noticed Artemis coming toward them.

"Just the person I'm looking for," Artemis said.

Bane turned around and then glanced at Thrash. "I guess I better go."

"No," Artemis said. "I need to talk to you, Bane."

"Tiffany?" Thrash said, surprised that he had something to say to her.

"Yes. I need to talk to her alone, Dimitri."

Thrash frowned, not liking the situation.

* * *

"Axel, what are you doing here?" Alana asked. She was about to go to sleep but Axel had come in. She sat up on her bed and stared at him through the darkness. He was out of his Organization cloak so she assumed he had been getting ready to go to bed in his own room. His emerald eyes were so vibrant in the dark. Alana could tell they were on her and she blushed. "Well?"

"Oh. I was just thinking about the trials and everything else."

"I see." Axel walked over to the window and saw Santa preparing the reindeer. The jolly man was working on one that had a red nose. That particular reindeer was in the front to lead the pack.

The redhead looked away to check on Alana. She was still sitting up but she was staring off into space. Suddenly she spoke.

"Axel, be honest: do you think all this is my fault?"

The question surprised him. He couldn't think of a time where she had openly blamed herself something. That worried him, that his 'stoic' girl was feeling horrible about something. "What do you mean?" He had to ask, he had to know.

Alana hugged her knees. "I allowed my master to be reincarnated and now he's helping Artemis, our enemy. In addition to that, the cube that I lost contained the Heartless used in the earlier experiments. Then you and Riku could have defeated the Trickmaster but you two were more concern with my safety and . . . Forget what I just said. Good night, Axel." She lied down and closed her eyes.

The redhead approached the bed and sat down beside her. "It's not your fault," he told her. "So don't worry about these things. You have no reason to." He looked at her and saw her slate eyes on him. He didn't know why but he got above her. The redhead stopped there, not sure what he should do next.

"Is something wrong, Axel?" Alana whispered in the dark. "You're just hovering above me."

" . . . Nothing's wrong."

"I thought so." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her body. Alana immediately felt his arms wrapped themselves around her. Immediately, she felt comfortable and safe, discovering she had been longing for a moment that only they were a part of. Now it was presenting itself. She felt a light kiss on her neck and she blushed, Her embrace getting tighter. "You're not going back to your room tonight, are you?" She had to be sure. Her heart was relieved when Axel shook his head and found her lips in the dark.

In the distance, as Santa Claus took off into the night, a sleigh bell rang.


	13. Chapter 13: A Month's Time

**A/N: Sorry. Very long chapter. And it took forever for me to post. Enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 13**

**:A Month's Time:**

_He told me to stay away from you but I can't. Not when it's impossible to avoid you. I can't stop thinking about you. I want things that I shouldn't, things that I don't need. Dimitri, don't you feel anything? After you release those barriers around your heart? You told me you feel guilt and sorrow but is that all?_

Tiffany had reached for the doorknob but the door opened before she could open it herself. Her heart fluttered when she saw Thrash looking disheveled. His hair was slightly messy and the tie he wore to his committee meeting today was slack around the collar of his shirt. He also had a sleepy look in his eyes. Somehow, all these imperfection made him more attractive to her.

"Um, we're having a meeting now," she said.

Thrash yawned. "I know." His golden eyes lingered on her before he said anything. Then he leaned closer and stared into her hazel eyes. "It has already been a week and I'm still not use to seeing you like this." He was talking about her lack of blue hair, tails, and ears. She was no longer like _them. _Now she looked like what he remembered from the first time he met her.

Tiffany looked at the ground. "We should probably go now. Artemis is waiting for you to come."

-----------

Demyx stepped out of Disney Castle. He saw Payge sitting on a hedge, reading a book. He gazed at her for a moment before walking closer. The last month, without Axel or Alana there, had brought them closer together. Whether Payge realized it or not, Demyx had practically fallen for her. And he thought---or at least hoped---she felt something similar towards him.

With that thought, se sat done next to her and she looked up. "Hi," the blonde said.

She sat upright and closed her book. She smiled as her brown eyes stared at the ground. "Hey, Demyx. You need something?"

"No, I, um, just came to check on you. To see what you're doing. Riku said that I could find you out here."

"Yeah. Outside is so quiet. I figured I could read in peace here."

Demyx flinched. "I'm sorry I disturbed you."

Payge looked at him, clutching the book to her chest. "You didn't Demyx. The beauty of this place already did. Besides, you should know that I love your company." At this, she blushed a little.

"Really?"

Demyx and Payge didn't notice the person approaching them.

Payge nodded, blushing a little more. "Uh huh."

Demyx was about to respond when a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Isn't this the part when you kiss her?" The person said, a smirk on his lips.

Demyx looked and saw the Flurry of Dancing Flames stooping down next him. Not too far, Alana was standing with her arms folded.

Payge saw them and leaped off the hedge. "Axel, Alana! How are you two? We've missed you guys so much."

"We're good," Alana stated.

"How about you two?" Axel asked, a grin on his face. "Did anything happen that we should know about?" He added, elbowing Demyx in the ribs.

Demyx gaped at Axel, understanding what he was hinting. His face turned red and he was about to deny every thought that Axel was suggesting. However, Payge spoke. "Nothing much really. The King and the rest of us were talking about Artemis and um . . .Oh and yesterday, Sora came by."

Axel raised his eyebrows, the grin slowly disappearing. "He's here?"

"Yeah . . . !" She stared as Axel walked off toward the castle. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You didn't," Alana muttered, her slate eyes remaining on Axel's retreating back. "It's a long story." _I can't even tell if he's happy about this. _

-----------

"I'm stepping out," Artemis announced at the meeting. He glanced at his subordinates' faces. "Why are you all surprised?"

Zees stretched and fell back, leaning on Chrys. Chrys pushed him off and Zees glanced back, slightly annoyed at his rejection. His attention switched onto Artemis. "You said something?"

"It's rare to hear you about leaving the base," Gear said, ignoring Zees's confusion.

Artemis sighed. "True but I want to do some research in Radiant Garden. Of course I'll be gone a while since we moved farther away. In the meantime, Dimitri," he added, his eyes on the young man, "try to see if you can fix that machine after the incident." He shot a glare at Tiffany, who hadn't been conscious when it was happening.

"_Wow, I never knew a Powerwild could be so strong. Maybe that's why Bane punches so hard." _Just the thought of that day made him angry. Dimitri had acted so ignorant when he was not, almost as if he had planned for the machine to be destroyed. Not only that, Gear hadn't worked on it so there was no way of knowing the overall design and how it was built.

"Is something bothering you?" Dimitri asked, the usual impassive look in his eyes.

Artemis snapped out of it. "Nothing."

Chrys stood. "Can I come with you, Artemis?" She asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

"It's best that you stay here. I wouldn't want any of the others getting out of line."

"Meaning?" Zees asked.

"Involving yourselves in certain activities. I don't need one person corrupting the others, right Bane?"

Tiffany, who had been staring at the floor daydreaming, suddenly looked up. Another warning. Did he know about her secret meetings with Dimitri in the middle of the night, how Dimitri poured his soul into her, confiding and telling the very thoughts that had been tearing at his insides since the beginning of all this? "Yeah. You're right."

"You know Bane, I feel that you want things you can never have."

"Similar to how Chrys get things that she shouldn't get," Dimitri stated. Artemis glared at him coldly and Dimitri returned the same icy stare. Suddenly Dimitri stood and headed for the door. "I'm taking a walk." He glanced over his shoulder and caught Tiffany's eye. Then he left the room.

About five minutes later, Tiffany would go find him. But not now; she didn't need it to be obvious.

-----------

At Disney Castle, in the library, King Mickey was discussing a course of action with the others when the door slammed opened. The Flurry of Dancing Flames stood in the doorway as footsteps echoed down the hallway. "Axel?" The king questioned his abrupt entrance.

Axel didn't answer right away. His eyes landed on someone who was staring at him. The man had brown spiky hair and blue eyes. Though the face had matured, the same boyish grinned remained to grace its features.

Axel cocked an eyebrow and folded his arms. "So it is true," he stated when Demyx, Alana, and Payge arrived. "The Keyblade Master is here."

Sora grinned. "Just filling the king in on what has been happening." Axel stared at the bandages on Sora's left arm and the small patches on his cheeks. Sora noticed. "These are nothing. I've had worst."

"Second-degree burns are nothing, huh?" Riku asked.

Sora sheepishly grinned. "Now they feel like nothing." His left arm bumped into the chair's back and he winced from the pain.

"How did this happen?" Alana asked, pushing herself into the room.

Riku replied, "He was in Agrabah fighting the Heartless. A random person tried to stop him, kind of what happened in Wonderland. He transformed and lost. However, an Experimented stopped him. Do you know of one who can do explosions?"

"That would be Chrys," Axel said. "We've met her once before in Twilight Town."

"Oh," Demyx said. "Around the same time me and Payge was fighting Bane and Zees."

"I think I would have been okay," Sora said, "but then there were Nobodies surrounding me. If Donald and Goofy hadn't arrived, I might have been destroyed." He looked back at the two in the corner. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it Sora," Goofy said. "We're buddies. It's only natural that we help you."

"Right!" Donald agreed. "You don't have to thank us."

The king sighed, bringing everyone's attention on him. "Before that, we ran into Thrash in Halloween Town." His eyes flashed to Alana and saw the grimace on her face. "He told us that Artemis wants world domination. The means, he didn't say much about. We can't figure them out because we don't know what kind of person Artemis is."

"But you know where the base is, right?" Alana asked, turning toward Payge. "Surely we can go in and stop them."

Demyx sighed. "We already infiltrated over a month ago and didn't accomplish much. Since then, they've moved to a new location. And we don't know where," he added, when he saw Axel was about to say something. "So we spent the whole last month trying to figure out everything and find out their location while stopping the Heartless attacks in the other worlds. Out however many, we only successfully sealed away four worlds."

"Twilight Town, Halloween Town, Beast's Castle, and Destiny Islands," Riku listed. "They served as our temporary bases. We had another but the Heartless found another way in."

Sora nodded. "The World Terminus. Apparently I didn't do a great job sealing Port Royal."

"Heartless use the corridors of darkness there to access other worlds," Mickey explained when he saw more the one bewildered look. "But all that was significant until two, three days ago when Nobodies came into the picture. The Experimented are controlling Nobodies. Of course, only superior Nobodies can control other Nobodies."

Everyone looked at the only two people who had missed all the deliberations, Axel and Alana. They all wanted to ask them something but there was hesitation for they assumed Alana and Axel had similar thoughts. Axel raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly uneasy. "So where are you all going with this?"

Sora replied, "We think they are fusing with Nobodies as well."

There was another silence as they thought about the possibility of such a power. Suddenly Demyx broke the silence, the idea bothering him. "How was your training with Merlin, Alana?" he asked. "Did you learn anything? I forgot to ask you."

"I learned some things," Alana admitted, however her training seemed unimportant. _If all this is true, then how can I destroy Dimitri? _

-----------

Dimitri was reading when he heard the rattling of the doorknob. He saw the door open and watched as Tiffany came inside. She gently closed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Hi," she said, her eyes examining him.

"Hey." He threw the book on the floor without a conscious thought.

"Um, what do you want to discuss?" _Or maybe he doesn't feel like talking. Maybe he just wants company or . . . what the hell am I thinking about?_

Dimitri shrugged. "Do you know what Artemis's true goal is?"

"Isn't it to find the limit about combining with Heartless and all that? That why were test subjects, some more than others," she added, talking about the difference between Dimitri and her. Artemis had---now used to---praise him all the time while he hated her guts.

"I thought so but then I remembered something. He always had this bizarre fascination with Organization XIII. At first I wondered what the Organization had to do with Heartless and why he wanted all those people in general to be experimented on. I also wondered what he wanted to do with the unstable test subjects."

Tiffany folded her arms and sighed. "I'm confused. Can you simplify it?"

"The point of these experiments is so he can find a way to fuse with Nobodies, specifically Axel and Demyx."

Tiffany's hazel eyes widen in shock. "What?"

Dimitri sighed. "He wanted to start with the least complicated and work his way up the ladder. He wants to be an overlord or something. So automatically, he's going to dispose of us once he gets what he wants. He probably wanted Riku's small part of Ansem so he could use it. That's why he needed the machine. That's why I destroyed it."

"So you planned it?" Tiffany asked. This whole time, she thought it was an accident or that it was her fault. However, Dimitri was admitting that it was his fault. "Because of you, Artemis had been making the last week a living hell for me!"

"I know. I apologize for that. The only reason he's on your case is because he believes that you're changing me . . ."

Tiffany thought that Dimitri was going to laugh but he revealed a smirk instead. "What?"

"Maybe that's a little true. I feel different around you."

Tiffany smiled as her heart swelled up with happiness. "What do you think happens when you get rid of those barriers around your heart?"

-----------

At Disney Castle, Alana looked out of the window at the garden below. Once again, her blonde friend found himself with Payge again, trying subtle flirtatious movements. Alana wondered what Axel had told Demyx about his blooming relationship.

Relationship. That word made her think about Axel. Although he had been around her in Christmas Town, they hadn't spent so much time together due to the training. And now that the supposed battle was looming closer, she realized that there wasn't much time left. Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. She looked up and saw Axel smirking.

"Spying?" He asked her, nodding toward Demyx and Payge.

"No. Thinking."

"About what?"

"The future, I guess." She unwrapped his arms and went back to the window.

"Um, did I do something?" Axel asked.

"No. I figured that I'm better off not getting use to this." _What would have happened if I hadn't remembered Axel? _She glanced at Axel and then out the window.

"Are you sure I didn't do anything?"

"I'm sure." Out of the corner of her eyes, Alana saw Axel went to stand by the other side of the window. Absentmindedly, she reached for the pendant around her neck. " . . . You can't be a Nobody forever, can you? Ale will have to come back soon, right?" She could feel his emerald eyes on her but she continued. "At this point, I'm not expecting you to be around forever. So isn't it better to keep our feelings hidden, to make things easier when the time come?"

Axel stared at her. "When did you start thinking about this?"

"Some time after I started my training with Merlin."

The redhead sighed. "Was that why you were acting spacey the whole time?" She shrugged and Axel scratched his head. He wasn't sure how he could comfort her. "You're not going to lose me. Me and Ale, we're the same being."

"You two are completely different entities. You can't say me and Naxala are the same being, can you?"

Axel thought about it but took too long to answer. Alana sighed. "I thought right then."

"No, I mean, I dunno. These sort of things are complicated. Ale is me, just reincarnated with heart _and_ soul, so, um, we are technically the same. And, um, that I'm Ale with fire powers and yeah . . ." _I really don't know what I'm talking about._

"You don't have a clue what you're saying," Alana commented, her slate eyes on him.

"True," Axel solemnly agreed, surprised that she could read him so well. "But you're not going to lose me when the time comes. I'll still be there."

Alana looked away and cracked up laughing. "I think that was one of the corniest things I've ever heard you say."

"And you laughing qualifies for a weird moment." The redhead approached Alana and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She glanced at him before staring at the ground. Axel kissed her cheek and her head shot up.

"Why did you----!" Axel had pressed his lips against hers. Alana had been shocked but then decided to kiss him back. Before she had the chance though, he pulled away.

"Sorry," Axel apologized. "I digressed. Back to the problem." He saw the dark look on Alana's face, probably because she knew what he meant. He sighed. "I guess I should tell you about Ale's life, my second life. So you can understand him better."

-----------

"We've been searching his room for hours, Dimitri," Tiffany complained. "Artemis is going to be back soon." She watched as Dimitri tapped the walls, trying to see if there was something, another room for example, behind them. Tiffany stood up when Dimitri stopped for a second and backed up from the wall. "What is it?" She asked.

"I think it's hollow there," he contemplated. "If there's another room, then it's the final clue as to whether he is experimenting about the Nobody."

"Why not go right through it?" Tiffany suggested. "Since you have a Shadow's abilities and all."

"Who knows what's on the other side? Doing that is reckless."

Tiffany stood beside him. "What if he finds out about us being here?"

"What can he do? He can't prove it." He looked at the door. Two seconds later, the doorknob rattled. He grabbed Tiffany and turned into his Shadow form. When the door opened, he threw himself into the wall.

Tiffany and Dimitri landed in a room that was lit by fluorescent lights. There were aisles of tiny vials and diagrams placed on the walls. The tiled floor was a slight blue tint. In addition, there were multiple machines that looked like they were based off the designs Dimitri had given to Gear. In some ways, the room reminded Dimitri of the one he had set up.

He glanced down at Tiffany, who was still in his arms. He stood and helped her to her feet.

"Dimitri," Tiffany whispered. "Where the hell are we?"

"Artemis's true lab. Apparently, he stole most of my ideas, something that I truly hate in a person." Dimitri picked up a vial and saw how the clear, glowing liquid had black and white swirls inside. "These serums are different from the ones I make."

"Does this mean Artemis wants the powers of a Nobody?"

"Hard to say what this is. I have to examine it composition."

"Who are you?" The voice was monotone and raspy.

Dimitri and Tiffany turned around and saw a man. He had black and white hair and red eyes. He had extremely pale skin as if he was sickly. His red eyes landed on Tiffany and then on Dimitri. "Snow-white hair . . . hmm . . . I was expecting you to come. Master Artemis told me about you." White and black lines swirled around him and his outfit changed into a white and silver samurai outfit. Suddenly, two blades appeared in his hands. "He told me to eliminate you if you came." He threw the blade.

At first, Dimitri thought the blade was coming toward him but then he saw the blade was aimed at Tiffany. Quickly, he took hold of her and turned around. The blade went through his shoulder. Tiffany was almost paralyzed when she felt the hot, sticky liquid seeping through her shirt. Dimitri pulled away and pulled the blade out. He looked up and saw the mysterious being in the midair, preparing to bring his blade down. Dimitri blocked with the sword in his hand still.

"Fool." The mysterious being's hand turned into a sniper gun. It was pointed toward his head. Tiffany pushed the gun up and blast hit the ceiling.

The man landed on his feet and rammed the butt end of the sword into her stomach. Tiffany collapsed onto the floor, clutching her stomach. The man turned around and saw that Dimitri was gone. He looked back at Tiffany and saw Dimitri appear. He threw his blade at him. He was surprised that it was deflected; then he realized that Dimitri's hand had transformed.

Dimitri wrapped his arms around Tiffany and disappeared into the ground. By that time, Artemis walked into the lab. "Irvine, what happened? Did you manage to kill him?"

"No sir. I failed."

-----------

"_You are in some ways similar to your master. I don't know if you're trustworthy enough to learn magic. A long time ago, he stole an egg from me. A rare bird hatches from it. Maybe you've seen it before. He also stole a book from me on the magic of the heart." "Why didn't you go get the stuff back?" "It was futile. The hawk would already be attached to him, the book probably burned and destroyed."_

"_Ale . . . his father died when he was thirteen, his mother only last year. So, even as a Missing, he has no one to worry about him." "Are you trying to make me feel sorry for him?" "No, that's not it. You need to know that we already have a connection. He knows my memories and I know his. And therefore . . . when that day comes---!" "Axel, there's no point in talking about this. I don't want to think about it right now." "Sometimes, you can be unfair." "In what way?" "You are willing to leave me and tell me you have to but if I have to go, you would never let me." "So, you're already calling me selfish?" "No, just that karma exists in the worlds." "So this is about payback?" "Alana, it has nothing----" "I'll see you later, Axel." "Yeah, see Demyx before you lose him too. At least, you can always have Riku near you. If I'm gone, you'd go for him, right?" "Would that make you happy?"_

_My world is falling apart._

Alana stared at the ceiling in the darkness. "What's wrong with me?"

**A/N: Ending might need work. Thanks to halfdemon-kai and FredandGeorgetwinsoftheC.O.C.A for reviewing the last two chapters. Thanks to Artistlil349 for reviewing Chapters 5 and 6. **

**Now I can see the end of this story in about four chapters. Hopefully they won't be as long as this one. That's it for now. Till later.**


	14. Chapter 14: A Promise Made

**A/N: Whoa. A fluff chapter. Surprisingly, Artemis, Dimitri, Tiffany, Gear, Zees, and Chrys are not in this one. This chapter centers practically around Axel and Alana, something I haven't done in a while. Enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 14**

**:A Promise Made:**

Alana sat up on the bed and glanced at the clock next to her. It was only two-thirty in the morning. She let out a groan and dropped back into the bed. It had been two hours and still, she couldn't fall asleep. She rolled on her side and closed her eyes. _Axel . . . I can't get my mind off of you. _Her slate eyes opened and she opened the blinds. The moonlight flooded in, reminding her how welcoming the night was. The night was so easily associated with darkness. Somehow, being in the dark made her calm and the moon only added its own tranquility.

There was a knock at the door and she looked at it. " . . . Who is it?" The door opened, revealing Payge and Demyx. Alana squinted when the hallway lights flooded into the room. "Why are you still up?"

"We had a very long strategy meeting and came up with some theories," Demyx explained. He glanced at Payge and Payge shuffled her feet. He looked back at Alana. "You aren't mad at Axel, are you?"

"Uh, Alana?"

"Why'd you ask?" Her eyes slightly narrowed, more out of curiosity than anger. However, Demyx took it the other way.

"No reason," Payge spoke up. "He just looked sorta annoyed at the meeting."

"Oh, I see." Alana turned around and faced the wall. She glanced up at the window and saw that the moon was full. "Can we talk about this in the morning? I'm too tired to discuss this right now." She waited for Demyx and Payge to protest but they both conceded and said goodnight. Soon, she was basked in darkness.

"_That kind of personality causes people to stay away." _Once again, she heard his teasing voice in her head.

The next morning, Alana walked into the dining hall. There was a long table in the hall that was surrounded by at least thirty chairs. However, everyone, except for the king was gathered at one end of the table. The King was the only one missing.

Riku and Sora looked up the moment the door had opened. The two waved. Alana did a small wave in their direction.

Payge looked up and smiled. She waved, too. Alana gave a little wave back. Demyx was sitting next to her. Then she noticed that the redhead was sitting across from them. He suddenly glanced and made eye contact. As quickly as they had it, it disappeared.

Alana sighed and walked over. She sat down next to Payge. "Morning," she muttered.

"Hey," Demyx greeted.

"Glad you can join us," Payge sai.

Alana stared at Axel. She wasn't expecting anything out of him but then he muttered "hi." That one word spoke in volumes. He was angry but he wasn't going to give her the cold shoulder, at least not completely. With that thought, she helped herself to a piece of toast.

After she took her first bite, King Mickey then burst into the dining hall. "I think I know where Artemis is hiding."

* * *

The Gummi ship landed on the outskirts of a town so it wouldn't attract unnecessary attention. Donald, who had been piloting, nudged Goofy in the ribs and pointed up. Goofy saw the darkened skies overhead. "Isn't it day time?" Goofy asked.

"It is," Riku muttered. "It's supposed to be sunny today, too."

"I guess this is what the King meant by a world being enveloped in darkness," Sora stated. He looked back and saw that Alana had fallen asleep leaning on the window. "Shouldn't we wake her up?"

Axel got up from his seat and approached Alana. He thought for a second before smirking. He sat next to her and leaned closer. "Hey, Alana," he said gently and shook her. ". . . Alana . . . ALANA!"

The girl jumped out of her sleep and nearly fell out of seat. She shot a glare at Axel but the redhead had turned around in the other direction. Everyone else could see that he was satisfied.

Alana looked out of the window. "Where are we?"

Axel smirked. "Where do you think?"

"I don't know."

"Sunsetville." Axel could almost see the look on Alana's face. He turned around and saw that he what he had imagined was close: her left eye was twitching and her face was set in a grimace. He smirked.

"We're splitting into groups.," he continued. "And guess what? We're going together. I told them how happy you would be about it."

Demyx winced at Axel's sarcasm. "You know, I can----"

"It's okay," Alana said, wrapping an arm around Axel's neck and placing her chin on his shoulder. Suddenly, she broke out into a smile because she had surprised the redhead. "I'm really happy about going with him."

"So you aren't mad at each other?" Payge asked, her voice full of hope.

Axel almost hesitated for a moment, his smirk disappearing for that instant. Then he grinned. "We're fine."

Sora grinned and placed his arms behind his head. "That's good, Axel, because you were in a bad mood last night."

Riku grinned as well. "Yeah. I'm glad you two resolved whatever the problem was."

Payge looked around and saw almost everyone was grinning. She blinked, thinking that it was weird. Then she tried to look beyond the exterior and noticed something. "Why do some of you look nervous?"

"No reason," everyone said at once.

* * *

Alana glanced around the town and saw that not much had changed. The festive decorations were still hanging overhead and the stores were still opened with the usual crowd in the streets. She saw the store where she had bought that blue dress. Axel had told her once that she looked beautiful in it.

Alana glanced at the redhead, who hadn't said anything yet. She wanted to say something but felt that doing so would mean admitting defeat. Then she heard him mumble "festival" under his breath. She followed his gaze and saw the sign. There was a festival tonight. _Everything here reminds of the past. _"Axel?"

" . . . Yeah?"

"I----!" Someone chose the perfect moment to bump into her. Alana stared at the person. He---she assumed "he" based on his physique—was wearing a white cloak. She wondered how he was attracting any attention to him. It was as if only she and Axel could see him. The person turned around and waved the pendant at her. Then the person took off. Alana ran off and Axel had to follow.

The scenery around them changed. The crowd thinned out as they got farther and farther away from the heart of the town. There were more trees and fewer buildings. Then they ran through the forest until they reached a precipice. The thief stood there, holding the pendant in his hand.

"Are you the Maiden I seek?" The voice was deep and raspy. It was a sound that wasn't pleasant to the ear. It was similar to the effects of scratching on a chalkboard or two high-pitched dissonant notes being played simultaneously. The thief took off the hood, revealing his pale face.

"I'm assuming Artemis sent you," Axel asked. "I haven't seen you before."

"My name is Irvine. I was ordered to eliminate you." Black and white swirls came around him as his outfit changed into that samurai outfit. He pulled out two blades and moved in.

Alana stood in front of Axel. "Reflect!"

Irvine bounced off the small barrier and landed on his feet. "A magician as well? I guess I need more force." His swords glowed and he performed a rush. Axel swiftly blocked with his chakram.

"Now Alana!"

"Water!" A blast of water came from her hand, aimed at Irvine. Irvine disappeared and appeared behind them. Alana and Axel glanced over their shoulders. Irvine swung his two blades.

"Reflect!" Alana said. The blade hit the barrier. An instant later, it shattered it.

Axel blocked the blade that was aimed for Alana. The other bore itself into his shoulder. Axel winced and wretched his shoulder free, making the wound worse. _That wasn't so smart._

Irvine swung the blade at Alana.

"Thunder!" Lightning shot down from the sky and struck the blades. Irvine dropped them both. He was going to pick the blades up but Axel threw his chakram. The chakram pinned the blades between two spokes on each wheel.

"Stay out of this. My goal is to only kill the Maiden." Irvine's outfit started to change into armor. The samurai blades that were on the ground disappeared and now he held one giant sword over his shoulder. "It is Artemis's wish," Irvine continued as a helmet formed, masking his face, "and it shall be carried out."

Axel's emerald eyes widen. "That can't be a Berserker."

Irvine brought the sword down. As he had hoped, Axel went left and Alana went right. He pointed the blade toward the girl, who was standing close to the edge. "This is the end."

He ran as fast as he could toward Alana. The girl cried, "thunder" but he avoided the lightning bolt. He placed the sword on the ground and swung himself. He kicked her and landed on his feet.

Irvine sighed as Alana flew over the edge. "You never had a chance." He turned around to face Axel but saw that the Flurry of Dancing Flames was gone. He walked toward the edge and peered over. He saw the moment that Axel appeared through a portal below Alana and wrapped his arms around her. Irvine narrowed his eyes when he saw that he broke the girl's fall.

He backed up about four feet from the edge and dug the sword into the ground. Then he jumped up and somersaulted before coming back down. The sword hit the ground, successfully creating a small fissure in the ground.

* * *

Alana felt the arms around her loosen and she turned around. She saw that Axel's emerald eyes were closed. She started to shake him. "Axel?" She took a firmer hold on his shoulders and shook him harder. "Axel?!" She glanced up to see if Irvine was coming down. But she saw no one and tried to prop Axel against the wall. Her slate eyes glanced at his shoulder wound. _That only happened because he wanted to protect me. As angry as he was, he decided to protect me. Why do you do these things, Axel?_

She knelt beside him and glanced up to see if they were safe. Again, she didn't Irvine. She unzipped his cloak and pulled the black material from his shoulder. Suddenly, Alana felt a rock hit the top of her head. She stared upward and saw more tiny rocks falling down. Then, the rocks got bigger inside.

"Thunder!" A lightning bolt struck one and broke it into pieces. However, more was going to fall and she doubted that she could destroy them all before the crushed her and Axel. She wrapped her arms around Axel and cried, "Reflect!" A barrier appeared around the two of them.

Alana looked up at the dark sky. Slowly, as more rocks fell down, the same sky vanished from view, leaving her in utter darkness. For once, it was not soothing.

* * *

Demyx looked over his shoulder and saw Payge looking at other items in the shop across the street. He sighed and looked at the items that were inside the one he was in. He stared at the female shop owner who was reading a magazine. "Excuse me?" She looked up. Demyx noticed the amount of make up she was wearing and raised his eyebrows. He was not sure if he should ask his question. He looked at the ground and scratched the back of his head, deciding that he should. "I'm looking for a gift for this girl and I'm not sure what she would like. Do you have any suggestions?"

The woman glanced up. "Does she happen to be that girl you've been looking at the last ten minutes?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know her well?"

"I guess you can say that."

"Then you should know what she likes." With that, the woman went back to her magazine.

Demyx examined the room for something. His blue eyes passed scarves, dresses, jewelry, headbands, and the list went on and on. He glanced back and saw Payge placed some of her hair behind her ear. _She does have long hair,_ he thought. _Maybe she would like it to be up. But that sounds like such a stupid idea. To give her a hair thing. _

He saw a giant clip with decorative orange and blue flowers on it. He supposed it would look cute on her. The blonde looked at her again. _But I just need a gift to show her I care. Why is this so difficult? _

"I'll buy that," Demyx said, pointing at it. The woman stood and went to go get it. _Am I really that stupid? What if she hates flowers?_

"Here you go."

Demyx put the money on the counter and picked up the clip. _What if she thinks I'm stupid for getting this? Payge probably wouldn't show it but she'd probably think so and won't like me. _

"Demyx," Payge said, startling the blonde. "Ready to go?"

The Melodious Nocturne turned around and held out the clip. "This is for you," he told her, blushing a little. "I know it's nothing much but . . ." He shrugged.

Payge smiled. "Thank you so much." She blushed before kissing him on the cheek. She then took it. She twisted her hair and using the clip, pinned it up. The loose locks that the clip hadn't grasped fell over.

"It looks good on you," Demyx commented.

"Stupid kids," the woman muttered, loud enough for Demyx and Payge to hear.

"Let's go," Demyx said, slipping his hand into hers. He didn't think much about it at the time but later he would dwell on the memory.

* * *

Alana reached out and tried to find Axel in the darkness. She felt his spiky hair and then his face. Her hand traveled a little lower and found itself on his shoulder, then his bloody wound. _I need to take care of that somehow,_ she thought, considering her options.

Suddenly, Alana heard a _crack_ and she realized that the barrier was getting weaker by the second. She crawled closer to Axel and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her head on his chest and soon she could feel it heaving with each breath he took. "I'm sorry, Axel," she whispered in the absolute darkness. "Forgive me for being such an idiot. I just didn't like the idea of losing you . . . kind of what you felt once."

Over twenty years ago, she had sacrificed herself for the "better good" when he had been selfish only because of what he felt. Axel had told her he wanted to spend his life with her. He had been so excited to tell her how they would make it in the world. But she had crushed his dream just to do what she believed to be right and fair. _"It's the only way to force everyone out and seal Kingdom Hearts."_ She had acted so righteous that day. Thinking about it made her sick. Was Axel okay about it afterward? Did he regret letting her do it?

Alana heard another sound and her head shot up. Out of apprehension, her embrace tightened and she closed her slate eyes. In the darkness, her hand found his face again and caressed his cheek. She then kissed him on the lips and pulled away. Again, her head rested on his chest. Alana slipped her fingers into his. "If we manage to live through this, I promise I'll make sure that never happens again. I won't let you go through that pain. I----"

She heard the barrier break and she gripped the back of his cloak. The sound of the rocks shifting was heard but nothing sounded like the one that should have ended their lives. Nothing crushed them like she had expected.

Alana lifted up her hand and felt a large rock. It had stopped against the wall of the cliff. She laughed as a wave of relief washed over her.

* * *

Alana opened her eyes and discovered that she was getting carried on Axel's back. She realized that she must have fallen asleep after taking care of Axel's injury. At first, Alana wanted to say that she would like to be able to walk by herself. But out of fear of starting another argument, she didn't say it. "I see that you're not unconscious anymore," she muttered instead. Her voice startled Axel.

". . . You did a really crappy job," Axel smirked. He glanced back at her and saw her confused look. "My shoulder, I mean."

"You try treating wound in the dark with nothing but a shirt," Alana muttered.

"_My_ shirt. Got it memorized?" He stopped smiling and sighed. He scratched his head, wondering how to say it. Then he realized there was no other way to say it. He glanced back at her with his emerald eyes. "Alana, I'm sorry."

Her mouth was slightly ajar. Alana was not expecting an apology from him at all. "Don't apologize.," she told him. "I was being stubborn and foolish. So I'm sorry, Axel. I'm sorry for everything I've done wrong to you."

Suddenly Axel stopped walking. "Alana, would you prefer walking?" She was obviously surprised by the question, how he knew what was on her mind, and nodded. He let her slide off his back and soon she was walking next to him. He saw the Gummi ship coming into view, wondering if everyone was inside. He stopped walking and Alana stared at him.

"Is something bothering you?"

"No." Axel took hold of her shoulders and kissed her on the lips. He felt her initial shock but then she leaned into it, gripping his cloak. He released her shoulders and wrapped his arms around her waist. The redhead promised to himself that he would never let her go because she meant everything to him.

**A/N: Thanks to halfdemon-kai and FredandGeorgetwinsofC.O.C.A for reviewing. I'm assuming three more chapters left. I'll try to update soon.**


	15. Chapter 15: The Last Day

**A/N: Okay. Here's the long, overdue chapter that was supposed to be up, um, weeks ago. I posted up two this time to make up for the long wait. Anyway this chapter happens a day before everything. I edited this chapter so much. I took stuff out and put things in and replaced other things. I tried to make it short but Axel-Alana stuff didn't make that happen (I haven't add much "fluff" between the two). Anyway, I hope this chapter isn't boring. **

**CHAPTER 15**

**:The Last Day:**

"When the final fight happen," Sora started, "we have to keep them out of the town."

"If that's possible," Riku muttered.

The two were hanging out in the Gummi Ship. Everyone else was out. Goofy and Donald had gone into Sunsetville to stock up on supplies. Demyx and Payge had also gone to the town, but just to walk around and explore. Axel and Alana had left immediately after breakfast without a word about where they were going. Riku and Sora could only guess what those two were doing.

Riku suddenly sighed. "Imagine if we fail. " He saw the stunned look on his friend's face. "The rules are different now. It's just not Nobodies and Heartless anymore. People are trying to harness their abilities for their own benefits. We've fought a few. They are not easy."

Sora thought about it. "That may be true but in the end, we'll be okay. We saved the worlds more than once, Riku . . . After we win this war, I can see Kairi again."

Riku smirked. "You and Kairi always had this thing for each other, even when we were just kids sitting on beach doing nothing."

"Really?"

"Same naive Sora," Riku said, shaking his head. He looked at his watch and saw that it was only noon. "So, when do you think the others are coming back?"

"Well," Sora contemplated. "I'm assuming Donald and Goofy will be back in half an hour."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "What about the others?"

Sora shrugged. "I have no clue."

* * *

Axel sat on a rock, his back facing the water. He could hear the little splashes and as tempting as it was to sneak a peek, he refused. After all, he had promised Alana that he wouldn't dare. He sighed then smirked. "This kind of reminds me of when I met you face to face," he called out to her.

Alana stopped moving and looked back at the redhead. " . . . The scenario?"

"We were in a similar place when I first held you . . . as much as you hated me."

"I did, in the beginning . . . I didn't realize how much I had started to like you until the day when we finally escaped from the castle."

Axel raised his eyebrows. "Really? I thought it was before that."

"Maybe it was. I probably never caught on until much later. When did you think it was?"

The redhead shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe when I told you, you didn't want to be alone."

_That was when he gave me the first kiss I didn't deny him_, Alana thought.

Axel heard a large splash and felt some water pelted the back of his cloak. _She probably just dived, _he thought.

Over two months ago, he had come back. Since then, the two hadn't had much time to spend with one another. They only had two real moments together. One was when they had arrived in Christmas Town, during their first night there. After that, that evil elf hadn't been helpful. The second moment had only been last night. Every break they had apart, he had wondered if they had been drifting apart. Alana had never once showed a moment when she had been phase by similar thoughts. If she had, he had never been around to see it.

He heard when she resurfaced and he almost turned around to see. However, he remembered what she had asked of him and turned back around before he could see anything. _I wish she wasn't making all that noise. It's so tempting to see what she's doing._

Alana got out of the water and wrapped a towel around her body. She glanced at the redhead, who still had his back turned toward the water. She almost wanted to laugh, knowing that the redhead was being tortured. She sat down behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing her head on his shoulder.

Out of the corner of his eye, Axel saw Alana staring out at something so faraway, that maybe she was the only one who could see it. A moment passed.

"Axel?"

His emerald eyes turned in her direction. "Hm?"

She made a funny face as if she was embarrassed to admit something. Her eyes landed on the ground. "There are so many things I never had a chance to do with you. One of them is dancing. So, when we're done here, you have to show me . . . how to dance."

Axel was silent for a while. Then he burst out laughing. He heard her exasperate sigh and immediately apologized. "It's just that," he began, still grinning, "every time I asked you to dance, you always told me no. That's why I was laughing. Sorry. I digressed. If you really want, I'll teach you. I promise."

"Don't break it." _I won't break mine_, she thought to herself, remembering the one she made in the darkness.

Axel turned around in her arms and held her close to his body. He then brushed his lips tentatively against hers before claiming them. One of his hands left her back and began to trace the contours of her body. Alana felt the towel starting to slacken but wasn't in a hurry to secure it. Not now when her mind had went numb with this feeling of exhilaration.

Her lips parted and the redhead took full advantage of the opportunity. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and he heard a moan, her moan. Through the towel, his hand made contact with her breast. The hand immediately left and went to her waist then her hip. The kiss deepened as they hearts pounded faster. The towel dropped lower. Before it could fall, Axel broke the kiss and embraced her against his body again.

"Come on, let's go into town," he said. "I'll treat you to some lunch."

* * *

Demyx heard Payge giggle again. She had been giggling since the picnic started. Demyx supposed she was nervous because they were alone in the middle of nowhere. The idea made him feel nervous as well. Now that he thought about it, the picnic could be considered a date. Demyx blushed a little at the idea and reached for soda.

"So . . ." He couldn't think of anything.

"Hm mh." Payge nodded, not sure of what to say.

"Kind of awkward."

"A little."

Demyx looked at her and saw that she was wearing the clip he had given her yesterday. He smiled a little. "Maybe because we're alone?" _That's a horrible conversation starter._

Payge held her knees against her chest. "I don't think it's because of that. We've been alone more than once. Remember when Axel and Alana left us alone in the mansion?"

"Yeah," Demyx said. _Think of something, Demyx. _He made his sitar appear and his fingers found its positions on the strings. "You want to hear a song I've been working on?" When she nodded, he started to play. It was upbeat but somewhat soothing. Occasionally, he would glance to find that she was focusing on him and nothing else. And he liked that he had his audience captivated. When he stole another glance, he played the wrong note. He grinned sheepishly. "Heh, heh. That was really bad."

"It's okay," Payge reassured queitly. "You still sounded amazing despite that one note."

Demyx looked away, feeling a blush coming. He made his sitar disappear and reached for a sandwich. "The sandwiches here are not as amazing as the ones in Radiant Garden."

"Really?"

"You can when we go back there."

Payge smiled. "I like the sound of that. It's something to look forward to." She reached into her pocket to pull out a pack of gum but her hand passed over something else. She pulled it out a little and saw the vial she had stolen from Artemis during their infiltration mission. Before Demyx could see it, she put it back into her pocket and pulled out the gum instead. She presented it to Demyx. "You want some?"

* * *

"Have you found the error in my research?" Artemis asked.

"No," Dimitri muttered as he looked through the thirty-so compiled pages of work. He was in the lab again, assisting Artemis. He had refused to help the man for a while. However, Artemis had decided to play dirty.

"May I remind you what may happen to Tiffany if you keep this game up?" Artemis reminded. "She means nothing to me when she mean so much to you. I still don't know why though."

Dimitri flipped to the next page, skimming through the notes. "I still don't see your interest in Chrys."

"Because there is none," Artemis said. "I just needed another supporter besides Gear."

"May _I_ remind you she's at least fourteen years younger than you? "

"Sex has no age limit." Artemis then sighed. "I suppose I could have made Bane fall in love me and make her my loyal servant as well but she always resented me from the beginning. And Zees could never be my follower. He is a bit too dense to my liking."

"And in the end, you're going to kill all of us."

"I might keep Bane alive and make her my queen just to spite you."

Dimitri didn't say anything. He held his tongue. _That's a sickening thought._

"You only have three hours to give an answer," Artemis stated, seeing that Dimitri wasn't focusing. "They are already here. Irvine ran into Number Eight and the Maiden. He came back with the girl's pendant and told me the two had perished. That is a good thing. She would have been able to kill me with that ability of hers, the power to crush hearts. She could have easily crush mine and I'd be gone. I think you hoped that would happen."

"I did."

"You're not going to deny it?"

"They say honesty is a virtue."

"If I didn't need you for a while longer, I would kill you right now."

"Should have done that months ago."

* * *

"Is it night already?" Axel asked Alana.

She checked her watch. "It's only four o'clock."

"Man," Axel said. "The sky seems to be getting darker and darker by the minute."

"Means we have to start fighting soon," Alana muttered.

The two were lying down in the grass, looking at the sky. They had been in silence for a good while, thinking about everything they mind could grasp. Alana's mind had been on the past and the present, thinking about all the mistakes she could have avoided. Axel's mind was on the future, focusing on the kind of life he wanted. Occasionally, the two had been passing discreet glances at each other when a thought involved the other person.

Alana sighed. "Axel, I want to fight Dimitri and Artemis."

"By yourself?"

"That's the idea."

"I can't let you do that," Axel said, sitting up. "I'll be by your side whether you want me there or not. Got it memorized?"

Alana stared at him before she smiled a little. _Somehow that was sweet of him to say. _

There was a silence between the two for a while. Then Axel said, "Hey, Alana?"

"Hm?"

"When I become Ale again and lose my powers as a Nobody . . ."

" . . . Yeah?" Alana felt nervous about what he had to say. When the redhead lied back down beside her, her heart pounded faster. She stared at him but found that he was looking the other way. She waited for him to say something but when nothing was said, she frowned. "What, Axel?"

"Do you --- this isn't even a really formal way of asking but --- do you want to get married? Not exactly right away, probably after college, but still." He didn't hear an answer. Instead he felt her hand slip into his. The redhead gazed at her before seeing her slight nod.

* * *

"I swear, Gear," Zees muttered as he sipped coffee in the lounge.

Gear looked up from his book, his Christmas gift. The book was about advance sciences and mathematical studies. He found the book very interesting and wanted to finish reading but Zees kept talking about this and that. It made him realized why he always locked himself up in his room. "What?"

"I heard that Artemis is moving forward with his plans bright and early tomorrow."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. We're talking about sunrise. Heartless everywhere."

"Very interesting."

"You don't seem very interested."

"Hmph, you just notice that?" Gear got up and closed his book. He was about to leave but then he changed his mind. _Maybe I should try to understand why Zees is weird or else it will remain a mystery._

The door opened and Tiffany walked in. "Hey guys."

"Wow," Zees commented. "Not in Dimitri's room, I see."

"What are you talking about?"

He smirked. "Everybody knows at this point."

Gear sat down and opened the book, trying to feign disinterest. "Out of curiosity, how did you meet?"

Tiffany looked at the genius. "Me and Dimitri?"

"Well, how you two met Zees."

Zees looked at Tiffany and then at Gear. "Well, I got kidnapped by Tiff. It kinda sucked that a girl beat me up. My best friend was there, too. Me and him got captured which sucked even more. We had dates that night. I was looking forward to it.

"We didn't meet Dimitri and Artemis until the start of the experiment. I don't remember much except for the pain. I was practically unconscious at the time. When I woke up, Dimitri told me my friend didn't make it. Artemis had already disposed of the body in Radiant Garden."

Gear frowned, wondering how Zees was talking so nonchalant about this.

Suddenly, Zees turned toward Tiffany. "You know, you were always angry back then. You hardly talked to anybody."

"If your whole life was taken away by some people, would you want to deal with those same people? Then again, you were talking to Dimitri right off the bat."

"Well, I would go crazy if I couldn't talk to anyone. Artemis had me in cage until I would cooperate."

Gear glared at Zees. "I don't get it. Artemis killed your best friend. He destroyed your life. You too, Bane. And now the two of you act like nothing is wrong. That nothing happened."

"Well," Zees started. "After some time, I saw it the way Payge did. I had a second family to depend on. I've been an only child my whole life. So, being here, I had siblings."

Gear buried his face in his book. "Wow. How sentimental you have become."

"You know, being so _sentimental_," Zees stated, sitting up. "We never did anything for Renegade's death. Like a funeral or make something to honor him. Now that I think about it, I never knew his real name."

"It was Sean," Tiffany said. "He lived in Twilight Town. He told me once that he would like to go back there someday."

"He mostly talked to you."

Gear removed the book from his face. "Am I really supposed to care about that?" he muttered. Tiffany's expression softened and Zees's became thoughtful. He glanced at them and gave them a funny look. "What's wrong? You want to honor Payge, too, because she's no longer here?"

Zees spoke. "What's your problem? Do you hate us?"

"Huh? Wh---!"

Tiffany interrupted. "Well, tell us."

Gear folded his arms. "It's none of your business."

"Well, at least tell us your name. I gave your nickname because you never talked to us and only worked on machines. No matter how I threatened, no matter kind Payge was, you never told us a thing. So before, tomorrow, at least let us know something about yourselves."

Gear sighed and closed his book. "Fine. I'll tell you my whole life story. I was born in Port Royal as . . ."

* * *

"You're going to Sunsetville?" Minnie asked as the king walked down the hallways of Disney Castle. He was heading for the hanger where Chip and Dale were waiting. Her eyes wandered to the Keyblade that the king was holding.

"I have to," King Mickey replied. "I know something bad will happen."

Daisy, who was also chasing after the king, glanced at Minnie before speaking. "What can we do?"

"Warn everyone," the king said. "Tell Hercules, Mulan, Cid, Tarzan, Leon, Cloud, King Triton, Peter Pan, Beast, Simba, and the others to prepare for any possible invasions. I don't want another Radiant Garden on our hands. No matter what, we can't let the worlds fall."

* * *

Dimitri came back at eleven o'clock from his Council meeting. When he opened the door, he saw it was dark and that Tiffany was already in bed. She had been sleeping in his room because she was worried that the 'mysterious being' would attack her. Namely, because she was weaker and more defenseless than Thrash. Dimitri walked inside, closing the door behind him. He took off his blazer and undid his tie. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah. I am."

Dimitri walked over and sat on the bed. Tiffany peeked out from underneath the sheets, seeing him removing his shoes and unbuttoning his shirt. _Is he going to sleep next to me tonight? No, he couldn't, he wouldn't. He's been sleeping on the floor the last two days._

"Tiffany?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to do me favor. It has to do with Artemis and Chrys."

Tiffany raised an eyebrow. "What about them?"

"One of them has the pendant. I need you to find out which one and see if you can get it without putting yourself in danger."

"Um, can you repeat that?"

**A/N: So that's it. A long chapter that I wanted short. Anyway, thanks to halfdemon-kai, FredandGeorgetwinsoftheC.O.C.A, and Artistlil349 for reviewing. In the next chapter, there are several cameo appearances of some of my favorite characters. **


	16. Chapter 16: The First Wave

**A/N: Here it is. I guess there will be two more chapters after this.**

**CHAPTER 16**

**:The First Wave:**

Everyone in the lab surrounded Artemis while he explained the course of action each individual would take. Next to him, Chrys peered at the diagrams and the X's that danced across them.

Artemis pointed at an insert on a map. "Zees, I want you to dispatch the first group in Wonderland. Come in from the Lotus Forest. You shouldn't be spotted until you're at the threshold of the court. Gear, you'll bring Group B to Twilight Town via the Mansion. Chrys, I want you to bring another group to ------ Ah, Dimitri, Bane, how nice of you to join us!" Everyone turned around to look at them.

Tiffany let out a yawn. "Good morning."

Dimitri didn't say a greeting. Instead, he eyed the 'mysterious person' from two nights ago. Next to him was a girl he hadn't seen yet. The girl had silver hair with black streaks in it. In a way, her appearance was similar to Irvine; she stood out. Her pupil-less eyes focused on him before her lips curved into a malicious smile.

Artemis walked around and patted the two unknown individuals on the back. "Dimitri, Bane, you two haven't met them before. Sorry I forgot. This is Irvine," he said, gesturing toward the guy. Now he gestured toward the girl. "And this here is Jive."

The girl waved frantically. "Hi there! I'm Jive-----oops, Master Artemis just said that. Anyway, I'm combined with two Nobodies. One is that dancing kind. The other is that cube-ish thingummy."

"Nobodies instead of Heartless," Dimitri muttered.

"Irvine," Artemis said, continuing his explanations, "I want you to go to the Pride Lands and lead an attack there." Artemis glanced at Dimitri. "Dimitri, you will go to the Land of Dragons and unleash a pack of Heartless. Jive, you will lead a group on Radiant Garden. This will be the first wave. In the meantime, Bane and Chrys, you will stay here with me and assist in anyway possible."

"What?" Tiffany exclaimed. Dimitri placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"Remember what I said last night," Dimitri whispered. "Just be careful. If it gets too dangerous, don't bother."

Tiffany glanced at the floor. _No need to freak out. I can now do it without a problem. Argh, why am I so nervous about screwing up? _She looked up at Artemis. "Fine. I'll stay."

Jive grinned. "I'm glad everything's okie-peachy! So, Artemis, is there anything else you would like to add?"

* * *

Cloud had been up at five o'clock, coming up with more battle strategies. He was in the lotus forest standing before a unit of soldiers he had trained. The whole deck of cards was there, each card with a weapon at ready. The Cheshire cat was on lookout. Cloud had decided to run through the course of action when the Cheshire cat laughed.

The Cheshire cat finally appeared. "I see them, heading this way," the cat said, looking straight ahead in the distance. Then it disappeared.

Cloud turned around and saw a wave of them. Suddenly, there was a loud beep. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a mouse-shaped communicator. "Aerith. I'm listening."

"_**There's a wave here in Twilight Town woods. Leon's almost ready with his squad."**_

"Does Cid know that it's started?"

"_**I couldn't get anyone in Transverse Town. I think that communications might be down there."**_

"I see."

" _**. . . Good luck, Cloud."**_

"I'll be fine." He put the communicator back in his pocket and saw the variety of Heartless about to attack.

The cat appeared and laughed again. "There are at least two _thousand_ of them."

"Attack," Cloud said. The pile of cards ran towards the group of Heartless.

* * *

Hercules was already trying to punch out one Heartless at a time. However, he found himself surrounded. He whistled for Pegasus and the white flying horse swooped down. Hercules took hold of it and flew off into the sky. He glanced below and saw the swarm. Then he saw someone emerge from the gate to the Underworld. "Auron?"

Pegasus brought Hercules down by the warrior. "Did Hades let you out?" He asked.

Auron took his left arm out to properly hold his sword. "He's trying to host a tournament below. Doesn't want it interrupted."

"Well, I'm glad that you here. I need all the help I can get."

* * *

Mulan opened the door of the palace and saw the army of Heartless outside. They were slowly making their way across the tiled platform. She looked back. "Mushu, did Shang bring the emperor to safety?"

Mushu nodded. "Two minutes ago. Should be back any minute with reinforcements."

Mulan reached for her sword that was lying by the door. After she picked it up, she headed outside.

"Mulan, where are you going?!"

"We can't waste any more time!"

"Mulan!"

* * *

Alana walked out of another portal and ended up on a tree branch. She looked back and saw Axel come out. The branch was part of the highest the tallest tree in Sunsetville. From this height, Alana could truly see how many Heartless there were at the outskirts of the city. She looked back at the redhead. "Are you sure it was okay to leave the others down there?"

"You have to remember who's fighting. Demyx is down there, Sora is down there, so are Riku, Goofy, and Donald. They've handled far worst then some Heartless."

"There's so many though," Alana commented.

"Don't worry . . . Can you tell where they're coming from?"

"It looks like from that direction."

"Let's go then," Axel said, creating another portal.

Alana did not know where they were going or what they were getting into. In fact, she didn't know who was waiting for them at the entrance. She hoped it was her former master or possibly Artemis. Then she could get back the pendant and restore Axel and Demyx to their original states. She stepped out of the portal and turned around, seeing Axel walk out moments later.

The redhead looked around before his emerald eyes caught a door that was opened. He grabbed Alana and pointed it out to her. "That's our way in." He made another portal. "Ladies first." Alana rolled her eyes and walked inside.

"I wonder why it was left open," Axel muttered, destroying the single Heartless in their way with his chakram. They were on the first floor of the place and so far no one strong had bothered to stop them. He glanced back at Alana, hoping she had arrived at some conclusion.

"Maybe, they thought we'd all be busy fighting Heartless." Alana looked around. There was a corridor to her right, one to her left, and the one she was in. She wondered what direction they should go in and what was waiting for them in each hallway. Her heart pounded with anticipation as she grabbed Axel's arm and tugged the redhead to her left.

"Do you know where we're going?" He asked as he got pulled along.

"No," Alana replied. "I'm hoping for the best."

Axel smirked. "That's new."

"I know," she muttered. _Why am I so paranoid for no reason? I hope the others will be fine._

* * *

A firebomb exploded and Tiffany flew back into a wall. She touched her forehead and looked at her fingers. She saw blood. _Must have been from the other explosion. _Tiffany glanced up. Chrys was storming in her direction. _She's changing into a Heartless_, she thought, already seeing a pontent danger in this game_ No wonder her last attack was more powerful. _

Tiffany forced herself to stand._ I'm not the way I use to be. Shit, this is painful._

"That pendant," Chrys stated, glaring at the blue crystal hanging on Tiffany's neck. "It doesn't belong to you. Give it back to me or I'll attack again."

Tiffany gritted her teeth and looked at the pendant around her wrist. She didn't make a comment, trying to think about her next move.

Chrys created a small firebomb in her left hand. "Your choice . . . no? Okay then." She blew the orb in Tiffany's direction. It was moving slowly. Tiffany was about to run but several large fire orbs appeared and blocked her way. Chrys sighed. "Don't blame me. We chose different paths. You decided to side against Artemis and I with him."

"You don't know his true intentions," Tiffany said.

"What do you mean?"

"He plans on eliminating all of us. We're nothing in his ideal world."

Chrys laughed. "You expect me to believe that? When Artemis loves me?"

"Are you really---?!"

"Enough," Chrys ordered. "Die!"

The fire orbs exploded, demolishing parts of the walls. Dust flew up and Chrys covered her eyes with her arms. A thought struck her.

"Don't tell me that I destroyed that pendant." Suddenly, as if on cue, the pendant flew out of the smoke and she sighed out of relief. She went to go pick it up. When she was less than two feet away from the pendant, she saw golden eyes glowing through the smoke.

Suddenly, Dimitri jumped out and his claws ripped through her shoulders. Chrys was too numb to scream from the pain or the sight of her dark blood flowing in rapids down her arms. Chrys stumbled back while Dimitri retrieved the pendant off the ground. His golden eyes studied it for any cracks before looking at the girl.

He cracked his claws, already thinking about all the ways he could make her pay. _I could easily rip her to shreds. I should. She almost----!_

"Dimitri," someone said quietly.

He turned around and saw Tiffany staring at him. She shook her head and he looked away. "Chrys, get out of here before I kill you."'

The girl stood there, still in shock. However, the increasing pain snapped her out of her daydream state and she ran away.

Dimitri turned around and checked on Tiffany. The girl seemed to be okay except for the small cut on her forehead. However, that was minor compared to what he had done to Chrys in return.

"I'm okay," Tiffany reassured him.

Dimitri sighed. Suddenly, he heard something and looked up. He saw Axel and Alana standing, their eyes on him. _They probably don't recognize Tiffany yet,_ he thought.

Alana took a step forward, then another. Before she could get away, Axel grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back. "Not alone, remember?" He muttered.

Dimitri approached them and immediately, Axel took the offensive. His chakram appeared in his hands, already on fire. Quickly, he threw them at Dimitri. Dimitri turned into a Shadow form and the chakram passed through him. Alana moved in and passed her hand through his chest, gripping a heart.

"Go ahead," Dimitri muttered. "It's a one-out-of-three chance."

"I know," Alana stated.

"Wait," Tiffany said, intervening. "Dimitri means no harm. He wanted to return the pendant to you."

_Isn't that Bane?_ Axel thought.

"Please, you have to believe me," Tiffany continued. "We're trying to stop Artemis, too."

Alana glanced at Dimitri, waiting for a sign of betrayal. The whole time of the examination, Dimitri kept a feigned look on face. Alana sighed and pulled her hand out. Dimitri dangled the pendant in front of her and Alana snatched it.

Dimitri glanced back at Tiffany and she hurried to stand next to him. "Look, if you want to find Artemis, continued down this hallway. You'll find an elevator. Take it up two floors. From that point on, you're on your own." Dimitri and Tiffany started to walk off.

"They seem surprised," Tiffany said, looking back at them over her shoulder. "Especially the girl."

Dimitri shrugged. "Question: do you want to go somewhere safe or stay here?"

It was Tiffany's turn to shrug. "Wherever you are."

* * *

In the Gummi Ship, Payge broke off communication with Yuffie. She turned around in the swivel chair and jumped off. Then she hurried to the door and stepped off the ship.

She was surprised to see the amount of Heartless outside. There must be at least a thousand of them, maybe a couple thousands of them when she checked again. She saw Riku, Sora, Goofy, Donald, and the King valiantly fighting them off. She was about to run toward them but a Heartless cut her off. She flinched when it struck at her. Before it could touch her, Riku destroyed it.

"You need something?" Riku asked.

"I wanted to tell the King that Port Royal is holding out fine, according to Yuffie." She looked around and then she focused on Riku once more. "Where's Demyx?"

"He went to the lab to help Axel and Alana out," Riku said. Suddenly, she tried to sprint pass him. "Hey!" He said, grabbing her back. "You can't run through this crowd."

"But what if he----!"

"He'll be fine."

"If he's not?"

Riku looked away from that sad look she was giving him. He glanced back and saw that her big brown eyes were on him still. He sighed, feeling guiltier. He handed her a keyblade. She took it and Riku saw that it didn't disappear from her hands. "I guess you really care about him," he muttered.

"What?"

"Alright, I'll let you go." Riku scratched his head. "Just don't be reckless."

* * *

Their footsteps echoed in the hallway. Here, on this floor, the hallways were painted a metallic white but the overhead lights were dimmer than the ones downstairs. In addition, it was dead silent up here as well. The whole atmosphere made the floor seem uninhabited.

Alana looked at the redhead, her slate eyes already adjusted to the lighting. "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"That chill," Alana replied.

Suddenly, a scream echoed in the hallways. They sharply turned around and stared down the corridor. The scream they had just heard, it didn't sound human. It sounded like they cry of a beast that had been severely wounded. The sound hadn't been pleasing to the ears. Not in the least.

Axel and Alana retraced their steps and walked into a hallway they had passed.

"Artemis, you need to relax! I wasn't screaming my head off like that during the experiments! So, okie-peachie?"

"Jive, don't say ridiculous things. He just combined with several Heartless and Nobodies. Perhaps about two dozen of them."

Axel and Alana stood outside an opened door. The redhead smirked and his chakram appeared. They soon were set ablaze. "He's here," he told Alana. "Ready?" She nodded and he threw the chakram.

His weapons broke the door into pieces and tore their way into the room, smashing and destroying bottles and empty vials. The two standing people in the room, Irvine and Jive, ducked. The person on the floor, presumably Artemis, had no need to bother moving. When one of the burning chakram came near, Irvine deflected it with his samurai blade.

"Master Artemis, you must go and prepare to be the ruler of the universe. I will make sure of that."

Artemis opened a portal of darkness.

"No!" Alana ran forward but the girl called Jive intercepted. Her clothes changed as black and white swirls appeared around her. Her pants became pink and baggy, her top more fluid.

Jive grabbed Alana's hands and grinned. "Sorry! Not now!" She started to dance, her movements becoming wilder by the second. "Round and round we go!" Suddenly, she flung Alana into the wall. Jive groaned when Axel caught her. She stomped her foot. "No fair!"

"Jive," Irvine said. "Don't be a fooled. The redhead is a Nobody."

"Okie-peachie!"

Axel looked at Alana. "Take down the girl first?"

"Annoying?"

"That's part of it."

"Okay but we have to isolate them somehow."

"Can you drive the guy into a corner?"

"I'll try," Alana muttered. "Thunder!"

Irvine avoided the bolt and came closer to them. Meanwhile Jive moved in.

"Reflect!"

Irvine's blade bounced off the shield. He landed several feet away. Jive, who had jumped up into a kick was thrown into the wall. She got up in a drunken kind of way. "That actually hurt!" She exclaimed.

Axel looked around the room. He realized that if he split the room into two sections Irvine was on one side, the rest of them on the other. However, the side he was on was smaller, hence they would have a small battlefield. He also took into account that it would be two against one. That was the one positive he could think off. Another one was that he would be in his element.

Irvine charged at them. When he was about five feet away, a wall of flames rose in front of him. "What?!"

Axel smirked at Jive. "Well, this is going to be fun!"

Alana moved away from the wall, already feeling hot. _How the hell could anyone fight in this heat? _Her slate eyes examined Jive, who was fanning herself. _She already looks like it's bothering her. _

Outside the fire barrier, Irvine stared at the flames. _Fools. Jive is not a weakling. She will defeat you. In the meantime, Master Artemis . . . _

He turned away from the fire and headed toward the door. _I will deal with the nuisances outside._

* * *

Chrys clutched her sides and let out a scream. Her yellow eyes landed on the door ahead of her. Inside was Artemis who she knew wasn't ready. _"I ask one more thing of you: please, my love, don't let anyone get inside this room until I'm prepared."_ She stood, despite the fact that her body was on fire.

_I'm transforming into a Heartless_, Chrys thought. _I won't be me anymore. _She glanced at her now red skin. Reaching out, she touched the wall just to see it melt. Her eyes landed on the door before staring down the long hallway. Chrys began to walk away.

* * *

Demyx had been wandering the halls for ten minutes when he finally came across a staircase. He looked at it, thinking. _Will this take me to Artemis? He would be on the top floor. All the bad guys live on the top floor. Xemnas did. You could also include Saix if you really wanted to. _

He started his ascent up the stairs. With each step, the more anxious he became. Soon he was running with anticipation. He reached the top and walked out into a hallway. The blonde looked both ways as if he was crossing a street. He chose a direction and started his search. Suddenly he heard a sound and turned around.

It was a human-like Heartless. It had something on that seemed skin-like; the 'skin' was red and yellow and had a collar that covered its nose. The creature donned a yellow cap with a curly tip. The orange hair came out long and sleek; the face was in the shadows of the hat and the high collar.

Demyx summoned his sitar and pointed his weapon at the creature. His blue eyes glanced at the ground and saw the creature's footprints melted into the floor. The blonde looked back up just in time to see a growing fireball.

* * *

Zees was on a precipice watching the Keybladers and others fighting. He sighed. _This is boring. They're almost done. _Someone grabbed his shoulders and yelped.

"It's only me," Tiffany said.

Zees turned around and saw Dimitri standing there as well. "So what happened?"

"Chrys will be a Heartless soon," Tiffany replied. "And Axel and Alana are trying to get to Artemis. I doubt they'll get there in time."

"And you're outside because," Zees prompted.

"They'll need help soon," Dimitri said. "We'll be the second line of defense."

Zees frowned. "Why are you saying that?"

Tiffany looked down and spotted the Nobody warrior in the distance. "Irvine's coming to fight them. At his current pace, he'll reach them in a minute."

"Then we should go," Dimitri said. He looked down at the black-haired guy. "You're coming right?"

Zees stood up. "What do I have to lose? If Artemis wins, I'll die. Simple as that."

**A/N: I hope next time I'll update faster.**


	17. Chapter 17: The Road to the End

**A/N: This is the second to last chapter to the story (you think this one is long). For this one, I moved it my home computer from my laptop (school owns it actually- they just give them to the students). I was hoping that by using this computer that the last few installments would be written better. After all, it was from this computer I typed all my stories. Anyway, I hope this chapter came out good and not – dare I say it – over dramatic. Then again, I have that tendency. Anyway, enjoy this one.**

**:CHAPTER 17:**

**The Road to the End**

Alana jumped away from Jive and Axel moved in. He flung his chakram at her. Jive danced out of the way and the chakram disappeared into the fire. "Ha!" Then she heard whirring sounds and turned around just in time to see them coming back, this time on fire. She cartwheeled and narrowly avoided one; the other cut through her sleeve and into her skin.

"Ow! That actually burned!"

Alana narrowed her eyes, already getting tired with this fight. There were more important matters to focus on. "Thunder."

The lightning bolt struck Jive and she fell onto her knees. "This is no fun," she muttered. Jive looked back up at them and pointed an accusing finger. "You two are using magic! You might as well scream Fire or Water or---!"

"Blizzard."

Jive felt the coldness and then her arms became frozen. However, almost instantly the heat from the surrounding flames started to melt the ice.

"I forgot this is your playing field," Alana said, her slate eyes on the redhead.

"Well, use fire," Axel said.

Alana smirked and folded her arms. "Sorry, Axel. I can't even manage a little smoke."

Jive stood and dusted herself off, glancing at her burn. "I guess it's time for an outfit change!" The black and white swirls came around her again. Soon her flowing shirt and baggy pink pants transformed into a simple purple cloak. She grinned. "Ha!"

Alana glared, not seeing the purpose behind this. "Thunder."

The lightning struck Jive. However, instead of being in pain, the girl only grinned. Jive moved forward, transparent cubes appeared around Axel and Alana. She moved her hands swiftly in an upward motion.

The cubes moved up and struck Alana.

Jive moved her hands to the right.

The cubes moved right and hit Axel's side.

Jive grinned. "You guys can't use your magic anymore! Okie-Peachy!"

"Say that one more time," Alana found herself muttering, ignoring the searing pain in her chest. She glared at the Jive, whose cubes were surrounding her again. "I dare you to say that one more time and see what will happen to you."

Axel helped Alana to her feet. "Don't fret too much. We have Artemis to worry about to."

"You guys still hope to stop Artemis?!" Jive shrieked. "Why?! You guys can't hope to stop the most handsomest, most powerful man from having utter and complete world domination! Okie-Peachy?!"

Alana couldn't help herself but when her fist connected with Jive's jaw, she felt good and not even an ounce of guilt settled in. The blow had also caused Alana some pain as well. She rubbed her red knuckles, waiting for the girl to get back up again.

Jive's grin was gone and she glowered angrily at the girl. "You will pay for that!"

Cubes surrounded Alana. She glanced up, down, right, left, behind; every possible escape way was blocked.

Jive maliciously smiled now. "I hope you get crushed to death! !" She held her hands out and moved them together.

Alana closed her eyes waiting for the pain. It did not come within the few seconds it should have. She opened her eyes and saw a cube right in her face. The cube shattered, along with the others. She looked back at the redhead. "Axel?"

The Flurry of Dancing Flames was hunched over, breathing faster than normal. _I really panicked,_ he thought._ For that one second I lost control. Damn. _He looked up and his emerald eyes bore into her slate eyes. "You don't want to look behind you," he found himself saying.

"I don't?" Alana questioned, really wanting to see what he meant. She forced herself to continue looking at Axel. She then noticed the blood dripping from his chakram. "You mean Jive---!"

"I'm not dead yet," Alana heard Jive say.

Alana had to turn around.

Jive lied on the ground in a pool of her dark blood. The long and deep cuts in her body, the tattered cloak, the evident weakness of her body as Jive tried to stand up showed that Axel had meant business. Jive ignored the blood dripping heavily onto the floor as she made her way toward them.

"I'll kill you," she stated as her clothes started to glow. The cloak slowly started to break down into fragments and floated into the air, vanishing. Jive focused her energy and more transparent cubes surrounded Jive. "I'll kill you!"

Axel quickly made a portal and pulled Alana in. They ended up in the hallway. Axel threw Alana aside and quickly closed the portal before a cube could come through. "I can't believe she tried that kamikaze attack."

"Kamikaze?" Alana repeated.

"Yeah, kamikaze. When you put your whole being into something. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah." Alana looked around and saw that they were on the first floor again.

Axel noticed that she had realized where they were. "Sorry. It was the first place I thought of. Are you okay? I should have asked that before but with the whole kamikaze thing . . ."

"I'm fine," Alana replied. Her slate eyes landed on the stairs. "I guess we need to head back up again."

"Yeah." Axel approached Alana and placed a hand on her shoulder. The girl turned around to look at him.

" . . . Do you think she's dead?" she asked in a monotone voice.

"Probably. I did an attack like that once and I didn't survive."

Alana frowned. She didn't remember hearing about this. "When?" She asked.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames scratched his head. "About a year after you, um, left." Alana hung her head and sighed. As the redhead tried to figure out her weird reaction, he heard her say something about 'a whole year'. Before he could ask her, Alana bolted for the stairs. "Where are you going?"

"We have to find Artemis."

Axel shook his head and chased after her.

* * *

Riku and Sora attacked Irvine from opposite sides. They were surprised when Irvine pulled out a second blade and managed to block both of their attacks. Irvine, with a sudden burst of strength, managed to give himself space, causing Riku and Sora to fly back. Both keyblade wielders landed skillfully on their feet. Irvine glanced at the two men, watching them circle him.

Sora blinked and Irvine was right in front of him. He quickly blocked an attack with his keyblade.

Riku jumped up and brought his blade down. The Nobody warrior moved out of the way in a flash. Riku, along with Sora, chased after the opponent and swung their keyblades at his side. Irvine skillfully blocked both keyblades. It was stalemate between the three of them.

"What do you hope to accomplish?" Irvine asked.

"What do you mean?" Sora stated, trying to overpower the Nobody warrior.

Irvine took a step back and flipped over them. He then turned around and slashed at Riku. Riku ducked low and swung the Road to Dawn, the keyblade successfully colliding with Irvine's side. Irvine flew back from the force. He then planted his hand on the ground and flipped back onto his feet. "Do you believe you are capable of stopping Master Artemis?"

"We wouldn't be here if we didn't believe that," Riku said.

Irvine narrowed his eyes. "I'll tell you a simple truth: if none of you can beat me, then you are wasting you time. One meaningless hit doesn't change the fate the worlds. The universe will be his dominion to do as he please." His red eyes settled on the king, the duck, and the dog fighting off the Heartless. However, they were managing to get around them and now a small horde was heading toward Sunsetville. "You will never win."

Sora jumped and tried to strike Irvine from above. Irvine blocked as usual. However Irvine's sword cracked then shattered into pieces. The Nobody Warrior was forced to move quickly out of the way. Sora grinned at his triumph. "Are you still sure about that?"

Black and white swirls surrounded Irvine. "I still am."

* * *

"_I just need one thing from you since Artemis won't suspect you. You need to destroy every vial in the storage room."_

"_Do it yourself."_

"_Come on, Gear. Don't be so uptight."_

Gear gritted his teeth. The fluorescent lights were starting to hurt his eyes. With his Heartless hand, he pulled his goggles over his yellow eyes. The teenager examined every vial in the room, reading the labels. "What's the point in this?" He asked himself. "What could I possibly gain from this? Zees and Bane just want something to happen in their favor. Though I don't see why they want all of this destroyed."

He headed toward the door but then he looked back, remembering Bane's words. _"Please, Gear."_

Gear sucked his teeth. "Why should I bother?" With that, he walked out of the room.

* * *

Payge rounded a corner and saw the Melodious Nocturne slumped up against the wall. Her keyblade clamored onto the floor as she rushed to his side. She touched his face and found it was warm. The blonde twitched at her touch and his blue eyes opened.

"Demyx," she said relieved.

"Hi, Payge." He tried to grin but he winced in pain.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Demyx said. "I think I got knocked around too many times." _I probably overdid it, too,_ he thought. _I feel kind of weak and tired._

Payge scouted closer. "Demyx, why are you closing your eyes?" She started to shake the blonde. "Come on, you can't sleep here. We could be attack. Demyx!"

The Melodious Nocturne smiled. "Hey, Payge. Can I tell you something?"

She grabbed his hand and held it tightly. "Sure. Anything you want."

"I always thought that you're beautiful. And you're awesome and kind, sweet and fun to be around. I really like it when you smile."

Payge couldn't help but grin sheepishly at this. She was about to say something but Demyx beat her to it.

"I always wanted to . . ."

* * *

Artemis stared at the person in front of him, if Chrys could still be considered a 'person'. He touched her face. If he was normal himself, he realized how badly he would have been burned. "My poor angel," he said. "You must lean on the wall to support yourself, huh?" He saw a single tear and wiped it. After removing his mask, he pulled down the collar and kissed Chrys on the mouth.

_It's about to die,_ he thought as his hand crept up the scorching body. _It's been severely injured. I might as well make this easier on it, this concept of death. It has already served me my purpose and is obsolete._

He pulled away and looked into yellow eyes. "You can't talk, can you? My dear Chrys." He leaned in for another kiss. Some time, during that moment, his hand ripped through the creature's chest, tearing vital organs, puncturing a lung, breaking a heart.

* * *

Axel kept looking at Alana. She seemed more serious than ever as she walked faster. From the moment they had hit the top floor she had been frantic. "Why the rush?" He asked.

Alana glanced at him. "Is that a serious question?" Again, she seemed to be picking up speed.

"You need to relax and be calm."

"I can't. We don't know where that guy is." She was talking about Irvine. When he hadn't come after them, they had realized he probably left the vicinity a long time ago. Irvine could be anywhere by now.

Axel smirked, shaking his head at the girl's paranoia. "When you see the guy, that's when you should start worrying. Got it memorized?"

Alana sighed and rounded the corner. "Maybe you're right . . ." Alana walked onto an unexpected scene.

At first the situation was uncomprehensible. There was Payge, on the verge of breaking down, saying something to Demyx who didn't try moving. Alana thought that the blonde was severely injured. But then she saw Demyx's body drifting away into small pieces.

Axel dashed passed her.

Alana was in a surreal world. She didn't know how but she found herself next to Demyx.

"What's happening to him?" Payge asked quietly.

"He's going back into nonexistence," Axel said.

"No he can't!" Payge said, on the verge of crying. "He can't!"

Alana bit her lip, thinking desperately before stating,"Move away from him." She removed the pendant from her neck and held it in front of her. _What happens if this doesn't work? What if we lose him forever?_ She shook the thought of her head. Axel and Payge backed up as Alana said,"**Release**."

Demyx's Heartless came out into the open.

Alana closed her eyes and outstretched her arms away from her body, her hands opened. She concentrated her energy inside of herself and a circle slowly began to spread out with her in the center. Soon circle encased both the Heartless and Demyx within its borders. "**Unite**!"

_It's been so long since I've done this. _

_I can screw this up so easily. _

_And any chances of his survival will be gone._

Doubts started to settle in her mind and she flinched.

_I'm better off just losing him without trying to save him and failing. _

_Argh! I can't think of such things. I have to concentrate . . ._

_But what if I----!_

She felt all her control disappear as she stumbled off the circle. Her back hit the wall. Her vision became blurry and then came back again. Her eyes left the floor and stared at the blonde propped up against the wall. He was back in jeans and a tee shirt. _I couldn't have completed the process. I lost control. Maybe he's nothing more than an empty shell._

She gasped when she saw his blue eyes open.

"Oh, my whole body hurts," the blonde said to himself. He looked up and noticed the people around him. "Aren't you guys supposed to be stopping Artemis? Unless you did that already. That would have been pretty fast."

Payge suddenly hugged him and started to cry. The blonde blushed, already worrying about Payge's sudden outburst. "Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?"

Payge shook her head. "I'm just happy that you're okay."

Axel smirked. "And here I thought you were a goner, right, Alana?" He looked and saw her disappearing around the next corner. He sighed. "You two might want to get out of here," he suggested as he watched Payge help the blonde up. "Can you two manage?"

"Sure," the blonde said. "I'll just open up a . . . uh, I can't do that anymore, right?"

"You're not a Nobody anymore . . . Myde," Payge finally said, putting his arm around her shoulder to help him walk.

The blonde scratched his head sheepishly and looked back at the Flurry of Dancing Flames. "Do you mind?"

"No."

* * *

Alana struggled to keep her balance as she walked. That had drained most of her energy. Not that she wasn't expecting it to. It happened every time she used and it took about three days for her to be back to full strength. However, she was going to push herself beyond her limits.

Alana's slate eyes were staring at the door up ahead. "He must in there," she mused out loud. She tried to move a little faster but she lost her balance. Arms wrapped around her and pulled her back into warmth and comfort.

"Wow," Axel said sarcastically. "You seem ready to face Artemis by yourself."

Alana looked up and met his gaze. "I don't need sarcasm right now. I need to stop him."

Axel sighed and held her tightly. "What's up with you all of a sudden? You just took off without saying a word to Myde."

"I messed up," Alana muttered. "I was overwhelmed by all my emotions. Before I used to have barriers around my heart to keep them in check but I can't create a single one now. I never realized how important they were until now."

"I still don't see how you messed up."

"He retained his memories as a Nobody. He wasn't supposed to."

"Oh."

There was a moment of silence before Alana muttered something about she had to go. Axel refused.

"Rest for a while," he said, still holding her. "You more than anyone should know your limits." Axel relaxed and closed his eyes when she rested her head on his chest. There was no refusal, just reluctant submission.

At that precise moment, a weird feeling passed over. At the same exact time, Alana tensed in his arms. Although Axel and Alana didn't know it, Gear, Zees, Dimitri, and Irvine felt that tingling sensation passed through them as well.

"What the hell . . ." Axel muttered.

"Axel," Alana whispered. "Kingdom Hearts is nearby."

"What?"

_

* * *

_

One minute ago . . .

The King noticed that there were no more Heartless ahead and that Goofy and Donald were dealing with the last of them. Now, they just had to chase after the ones heading toward the town and this part of the war would be over. He looked at Riku and Sora who were some thirty yards away. They were still fighting Irvine, who had gone Berserk on them.

The King gritted his teeth and looked back. "Donald! Goofy!"

Goofy threw his shield and destroyed the last Heartless. Him and Donald rushed over. "Yes, your Majesty?"

"I need you two to go toward the town! Hopefully the Heartless didn't get there yet!"

"Yes sir!" Donald said, saluting King Mickey. Goofy did the same. Then the two dashed toward the town.

The King watched for a second before running toward the other battle. He was halfway there when he stopped and stared at the sky. The whole sky was turning pitch black. In the distance, he saw something moon-like appearing in the sky. He then realized it was Kingdom Hearts in disarray. A majority of it was missing.

Mickey looked back at Sora and Riku. The two men were looking up at the sky. His gaze shifted to the Nobody warrior and saw how Irvine's eyes lit up.

"He has succeeded," Irvine said. He then glared at Riku and Sora. "What now? This is where your story ends and Master Artemis' begins."

"Still, we finish this fight," Mickey said as approached Riku and Sora to stand by their sides.

"Fine," Irvine said. "I'll end your lives then."

* * *

Back inside the hideout, Axel's hands touched the doors. However, he had yet to open them. He stared at Alana. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Axel," Alana muttered. She was standing on her own now but she still looked tired and fragile. She walked over and placed her hands on the door as well. Her slate eyes met emerald ones. Her lips curved into a small smile. "Let's get this over with."

Alana was caught off guard when Axel kissed her. He quickly pulled away, blushing after he saw her blushing. He averted his gaze, trying to cover his embarrassment with a smirk. "Usually, in movies, people do that before the climax as a 'good luck' sort of thing." _She probably saw through that one._

Alana raised an eyebrow. _Is he trying to procrastinate?_ She leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. "Good luck then."

The redhead stared at her as she begun to push the doors. He then helped her with the task. The doors budged and they stood at the entrance of a spacious room. It was empty except for the empty throne. Usually, at this time of day, sunlight would pour through the skylights on the high ceiling. Alana walked in, her eyes scanning the room for Artemis. Then she noticed a creature flying above them.

As high as it was above them, she could easily tell that the creature was a couple of feet taller than Axel. Its chest and shoulders were plated with metal scales. Two large, jagged wings extended from its back. One arm had long sharp tendrils for fingers that were held together by belts. The other arm had sharp, thin spikes sticking out from the side. The creature's legs were awkwardly bent, a long tail swishing behind them. Over the face was a mask that only revealed one eye.

"Welcome," the creature said, landing on the ground. "I have been expecting someone to come here to stop me. I never expected the Maiden to come back from the dead though."

Axel summoned his chakram. "I'm assuming that you're Artemis."

"I've changed." He raised his hands the room was engulfed in a darkness that they could still see in. "This is where you'll die," he stated, as copies of himself surrounded Alana and Axel. The spikes on their arms glowed red and shot at them.

Alana raised her hands. "Reflect." A shield surrounded both her and the redhead. Though at first the shield reflected the spikes, it soon broke apart under the pressure.

**A/N: And that's it. I did Chapter 18 already but I didn't post it because I want to make it as good as possible. Then I will do an epilogue and the story's done. Thanks to FredandGeorgetwinsoftheC.O.C.A and halfdemon-kai for reviewing. Till later.**


	18. Chapter 18: A Broken Promise

**A/N: A long chapter but think of it as one and a half chapters smashed together as one. I guess the fight with Artemis was dragged out a bit (and it might be boring ;). I would have split this into two but the chapter fitted together as a whole and I wanted 18 to be the final chapter installment followed by the epilogue. Enough of my rambling. Enjoy. **

**RUDE AWAKENING**

**CHAPTER 18**

**:A Broken Promise:**

When Donald and Goofy reached Sunsetville, they were surprised to see only two Shadows fighting each other. They were even more surprised that Zees and Dimitri were watching the spectacle. On guard, Donald and Goofy readied their weapons. "You!"

Zees and Dimitri looked up from the battle. Dimitri shrugged. "What's wrong?" He pretended not to notice the fact that their weapons were out in the open.

"What are ya up to?" Goofy demanded.

"We decided to have a change of heart," Zee said. He suddenly he laughed. "I think I made a pun."

Dimitri sighed. "We're not in the mood of fighting, especially after finishing off these Heartless." He noticed that only one Shadow was left standing. It had won the fight. Dimitri's hand turned into a claw and he slew it with ease. "So why don't you two catch up with your king?"

Zees glanced at the town. "We would like to come with you but we're waiting for someone."

Donald angrily shook a fist. "No one asked you to!"

"Relax!" Zees said, putting his hands up in a no offense way. "If you don't want us to, we won't come despite the fact we did you guys a big favor. I mean, no more Heartless, right?"

Goofy pulled Donald aside. "They're right, ya know," he whispered. "We should return the favor. The King would."

Donald turned around, folding his arms. He let out a groan. "Fine. You can come but only because the King would."

"Good," Dimitri stated nonchalantly. He looked back and saw Tiffany coming back with three ice cream cones, her treat. "We were going to come either way."

Donald kicked a rock out of anger.

* * *

Alana opened her slate eyes. She realized that they were back inside the room. Scanning the room for Axel, she found the redhead some distance away, spikes protruding out his back. "Axel," she whispered and tried to crawl to him. Her body didn't want to move and because she forced, she found herself in excruciating pain. _You can be so naive_, Alana thought_. Even a Nobody has its limit._

She remembered how easily the shield had shattered, how Axel had to take over and block as many spikes as possible, how there were so many that had barely missed her. Then when he couldn't keep up . . .

Artemis picked Alana up by the shirt. "This is all what the Maiden has to show? You're not even worth absorbing into my being." He threw her carelessly into a wall and then approached the Flurry of Dancing Flames. His hand gripped Axel by the head, lifting him up that way. "You, on the other hand, are worth absorbing. I would like to have your fire abilities. It would be, a nice addition to Chrys's."

Alana placed her hand over the part of her body that was aching the most. "Cure . . . cure . . . cure." She knew it was her weakest spell that she could perform. Fire, she couldn't even produce smoke. She tried to hurry so she could stop Artemis.

Axel's mouth started to move and form words. "That would be the last thing you'll do to me, you fucking prick. You got _that_ memorized?"

"You insolent, little--!" He looked over his back and saw Alana's hand inside of him. Before he could react, he felt something crush inside of him. Animalistic, he growled before going up into the air, out of Alana's reach. Alana looked up and stared at his beating wings. "Blizzard."

One of the wings froze and Artemis came tumbling back down. He hit the ground, the ice shattering like glass. When he had hit the ground, he had relinquished his grip on Axel. The redhead landed a good distance away.

Alana rushed over and tried to see if she could cure him to the best of her abilities. Her slates eyes kept glancing in Artemis's direction. Artemis started to get off the floor. Alana started to pull the spikes out of Axel's body, hoping that it would speed up the process._ Why didn't I think about puling them out before? _She thought as she frantically tried to cure the redhead of his injuries.

She looked up and didn't see Artemis. Then she noticed the moving shadow on the floor. The shadow passed underneath her and Artemis rose behind. Alana turned around and stared into the single red eye. She stood, her eyes never leaving Artemis.

"You're going to fight me?" Artemis asked, his hands curling into fists.

"You're not touching him again," Alana threatened.

She attempted to kick his side but Artemis blocked with his arm. Alana then twisted her whole body in the air. This time Artemis caught her ankle and threw her into the wall. He moved toward her, beating his wings to increase his speed. He punched the girl in the stomach and he heard the soundless gasp of pain. His other hand broke out of the straps and stretched out. He was about to pierce her but her hand shot out and grabbed another heart. Alana crushed it.

Artemis moved away, wondering what he had lost. It was definitely not his heart for he was still in control. He gritted his teeth behind the mask.

"You wretch!" He moved in to kill her but a certain redhead got in front and created a wall of fire.

Axel's green eyes landed on her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she stated despite the pain shooting through her body.

Axel summoned his chakrams, both of them burning on fire. He was still pretty beat up but he decided that Alana needed a breather. "I'll handle this," he told her. "So relax for a while."

The Flurry of Dancing Flames slid toward Artemis, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. Artemis casually moved out of the way and waited for the Nobody to stop moving. "Only you?"

Axel slowed to a halt, turned around, and smirked. "What's the problem?"

Axel threw a chakram. Artemis dodged it and extended his sharp tendrils. To pierce him at maximum force, he flew up into the air and dived down at the redhead. Axel rolled out of the way and threw his other chakram. The chakram ripped through a wing and Artemis crashed into the floor.

"You don't know how to use Nobody abilities," Axel stated. However, his green eyes widened when Artemis grabbed the broken wing and ripped it off. The wing turned into a blade.

"I know the abilities of Nobodies very well. The Creeper can change its body into any form, one of them being a sword. Think of this as an advance version of what they can do."

"Interesting," Axel stated as his chakrams returned to him. He caught them. "Now to die."

"I suggest that if you want to come even close to beating me, don't get cocky."

"Oh, I won't."

* * *

Sora collapsed on the ground, still clutching onto his keyblade. The brown-haired man found that all his energy had been spent. He could hardly move. With whatever strength he had left, Sora tilted his head and saw the disappearing body twenty feet away from him and Riku. That fact that Irvine would no longer be in existence proved that his battle was done. There was one more and that was Artemis.

Riku, on one knee, placed his keyblade in the ground and leaned on it for support. His blue eyes focused ahead. "We should probably go help Alana and Axel." He tried to get up but fell back down.

The King approached them. Since he had joined the battle a little late, he wasn't as badly injured as the two. However, he walked with a limp. "I think you two need rest."

* * *

"Now Alana!" Axel cried out.

Alana crushed another heart.

Artemis stumbled back, glaring at the Maiden. Another one of his Heartless powers gone. Pretty soon he'd have to rely on his Nobody abilities. That is if she didn't crush his heart, the only thing that kept him in control of this body. He moved out of the way, narrowly avoiding Alana. He elbowed her in the back.

Alana hit the ground and struggled to get back up. He was about to step on her but Axel moved in. He blocked the redhead's chakram with the spikes on his arm.

Artemis's red eye landed on the sword he had dropped.

Axel smirked. "No you don't!"

A wall of fire came in front of the creature, cutting him off from his sword. Artemis turned around and glared at the Flurry of Dancing Flames. His single red eye narrowed in hatred. "I don't need it to defeat you."

Axel smirked and threw his chakrams. Artemis skillfully dodged them. Then Axel punched Artemis in the mask, successfully cracking it. Full of anger, Artemis kicked the redhead.

Alana caught him. "You're okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." Axel's emerald eyes focused on the mask. It was starting to fall apart. Soon him and Alana could see both red eyes, the followed by shriveled skin. Then a mouth that was nothing more than a hole was revealed.

The pieces of the mask clattered as they hit the floor.

"No matter," Artemis stated as he moved toward them. He ripped off another wing and turned it into a lance. Then he threw it.

"Reflect." A shield rose and the lance started to slowly pass through. Alana watched as the lance stopped, the tip almost touching her nose. The shield disappeared and the lance fell on Axel. The redhead got up and threw it behind him. Then he lifted his hands up.

Artemis felt the two chakrams ripped through his shoulders. He saw the dark blood on the floor in puddles around his feet. He glanced back up, just in time to see Axel catch his weapons.

The redhead smirked, feeling cocky. "Want more?"

Artemis glanced at his arm, seeing his spikes fully regenerated. "You'll die here."

Alana and Axel were back in that dimension where multiples of Artemis surrounded them. Alana and Axel got back to back, their eyes darting around them. Axel passed Alana a chakram. "You might need it."

Alana looked down at the spiky wheel and then back at the many Artemis-es. "Burn them."

"What?" Axel noticed them raising their arms to fire. "I can't burn all of them. There's just too many."

The spikes came hurling toward them.

"Get down low," Axel ordered and Alana got down on one knee. Then she started to block the spikes. Compared to Axel, she wasn't doing an amazing job. She supposed if she had been standing, a lot of spikes would have made contact. At least in this position, there was less of her body to protect.

The barrage of spikes stopped.

Alana looked up and her slate eyes connected with glowing red orbs. Suddenly her oxygen was cut when Artemis grasped her throat. Axel turned around and leaped at him. However Artemis jumped out of the way. Two clones came down and held Axel down. The Flurry of Dancing Flames struggled but couldn't get free.

Artemis looked at the girl dangling in his grasp. "I'm not going to kill you," he stated, the scales on his chest folding back, revealing a cavity. Suddenly, strings of flesh came shooting out of it, wrapping themselves around Alana's body. "Your powers might be of some use to me."

Axel noticed that Alana was still clutching onto his chakram. He tried to wiggle his fingers and discovered that he could. He concentrated and started to puppet the chakram.

Alana felt the chakram starting to spin and inched her fingers away.

The chakram cut through the tendrils. Artemis screamed in agony, forced to relinquish his hold on the Maiden.

The girl fell onto the floor as the tendrils withered away into dust.

The realm disappeared around Alana and Axel.

They looked up at Artemis, seeing him open his mouth wide. Then a beam came hurtling out. Alana rolled out of the way in one direction, Axel in the other. A white beam left Artemis' mouth and destroyed part of the wall behind them. Axel and Alana looked behind, surprised to see the damage down by that one blast alone. They looked back just in time to see Artemis repeating the process. This time, he moved his head, having a greater range.

Alana ran to the left, the beam chasing her; Axel ran to the right, preparing for an attack. Axel summoned his chakrams and threw them.

Artemis turned toward Axel, the beam incinerating the chakrams.

Alana dashed forward, her hand already glowing. When the beam came in her direction, she leaped to the side.

Axel summoned his chakrams again and rushed in.

Artemis stopped shooting his beam and glanced at both opponents. He then focused on Alana. He moved in her direction. Without her here, he could win. He wouldn't be gone off this world. He would rule supreme. No one could stop him once he regain all the powers he lost. No one, not even Dimitri, not even the King, not even--

Artemis halted the moment he heard half his arm fall on the floor. He looked down and saw the oozing arm that had once contain all the spikes. He turned and saw Axel catch his chakram. He had forgotten there was only one pure Nobody left in the universe. The only one that he felt would be a threat to his reign.

Alana saw that Artemis was distracted and swiftly delivered the blow. Her hand penetrated his chest and grasped his heart. She found herself gazing into Artemis's red eyes. The connection lasted only for second but it was enough to see the anger, the horror burning somewhere deep inside him.

She crushed his heart.

Artemis's eyes lost its fiery glow. It dulled before glowing yellow. Alana's slate eyes opened wide as the tail knocked her into the wall.

"Alana!" Axel tried to move forward but the creature came in the way. The redhead cast a glance at Alana and noticed that she was out cold. _Did she over do it? _He asked himself.

The creature roared.

* * *

Payge and Myde had almost reached the Gummy Ship when the noticed that another part of Kingdom Hearts dissipated. Payge frowned, still securing Myde's arm around her neck. "I'm beginning to think that shouldn't happen."

Myde looked up at the moon-like heart or at least what remained. "It shouldn't. Something's been wrong, even before that laser blast shot out of mountains. I want to go back and help but without my powers, I'm nothing."

Payge furrowed her eyebrows. "Don't say that. You helped Axel and Alana a lot. So don't put yourself down, Myde. You did exceptionally well." She said that with a smile. Next thing she knew, she was being held against the blonde's chest. She closed her eyes as she listened to his heart beat. She realized that it was something that she could fall asleep to.

"You're always kind, Payge," he found himself saying. His blue eyes looked downward at an angle, focusing on something below. "Remember what I said when I thought I was going to gone?" The girl nodded. "I meant every single word."

"I know Myde." She hugged back just as tightly as he was holding her. "I know."

* * *

Alana opened her eyes and saw Axel standing in front of her, hunched over, breathing irregularly. She then noticed that Artemis, or the creature, was gone; that the place was falling apart; that Kingdom Hearts, whatever was left of it, was visible overhead through a hole in the ceiling. "Axel . . ."

The redhead turned around and gave her grin. "You know, you shouldn't push yourself. It's not good for your body. See how easily you go knocked out?" Suddenly he fell down on one knee. When he looked up, Alana was already next to him, holding his arm.

"Come on, Axel. The place is collapsing."

Axel shook his head, the grin never leaving his face. "I think it's best if I stay here. Kamikaze attacks . . . aren't the best. But you probably memorized that since I told you before." He pointed to his head and it was then that his arm slowly started to dematerialize. He looked at his arm, surprised but then shook it off. "If I used one, I didn't really commit it to memory."

"No."

Axel raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"No," she stated, removing the pendant. "I can still--!" But Axel grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"Do that and you probably won't exist." He sighed. "Each time you do something like this, a piece is taken away from Kingdom Hearts. And the moment that it's gone, you'll be gone, too. Besides, I don't think there's even enough time to try something like that. You need to get out. I would open a portal for you but I don't have the strength in me."

"Don't be an idiot."

"You'll be fine without me. You're a strong person. If you—!"

"You're such a liar. Is this payback? Karma? This isn't even fair. You promised that, that . . ." She couldn't even say the words. She looked at him helplessly.

Axel rested his head on her shoulder. "Promise that you leave now. So that in the end, I'll know that you're safe. At least do me this one favor."

"I . . . I promise."

Axel smirked. "Good. Then you better start running."

Alana got up and looked at him.

_What am I doing?_

She looked away and started for the door. She couldn't even turn back.

_I should be back there, trying to save him._

Alana stopped in the hallway and heard a rock block off the entrance.

_**Save yourself, Alana. You're more important. Remember, emotions of the heart is something to be pitied. You learned that well from Dimitri.**_

Alana finally turned around and looked at the closed doors. She ran back and tried to push the doors open. However, they wouldn't budge. She started to pound on the doors, screaming senselessly. Soon she found herself ramming the door. Eventually she gave up and slid down against the cold metal.

_I need to save him. Think._

_**There's no hope.**_

_There has to be something,_ she thought placing her hands on the cold metal.

"Firaga!"

She was surprised to feel the heat burst out of her hands and at the doors. When they burned down and destroyed whatever was behind them, she was relieved. Until she saw Axel lying on the ground, barely there.

Alana got off the ground and ran toward him, removing the pendant simultaneously. "**Release!**" The Shadow came out and bounded toward the Nobody.

She quickly made the circle, no longer thinking about the perfection of it. Her mind was only thinking of saving him. "**Unite!**"

The moment it started, her body started to feel weakened. She was soon on her knees but she pushed herself. She could see Axel's body slowly reforming and this made her relieved. Alana placed her hands on the floor and kissed the redhead, worrying that this might actually be the end. The place was falling down around them and her intangible heart was in pain. _I live as long as you live._

* * *

They were all outside when the place collapsed and when Kingdom Hearts exploded into bits.

Riku, Sora, the King, Goofy, and Donald all stood next to the Gummi Ship. Not too long ago, they had received good news that everyone had won the battles. But now this event overshadowed it.

Dimitri, Zees, Tiffany, and Gear wasn't far away. The sound of the hideout falling apart brought them a mixture of joy and dread. For Dimitri, he was glad that it was over but all his research was gone. And now, he would have to start from scratch if he was going to cure Zees and Gear, enabling them to live normal lives.

Myde glanced at Payge, sensing her distraught. She, too, had noticed that Axel and Alana weren't here yet. And like him, she was worried that they hadn't made it. That they were crushed by all the debris. The blonde looked around and then noticed that the same idea was settling in the others.

Gear removed his goggles from his yellow eyes with his heartless hand, thinking there were dust on it. Soon he realized that he wasn't seeing things. "Someone's coming."

Sora recognized that black coat from a distance. He had seen it, thousands of times due to all his run-ins with the Organization. Sora immediately thought it was Axel. When the person got closer, he could tell it wasn't the Flurry of Dancing Flames. The person had short, spiked up red hair. However, the piercing emerald eyes and other Axel traits were there. In addition, Alana was being carried in the guy's arms.

Payge stood up. "Ale! Alana!"

The redhead walked right passed her and charged at Dimitri. Dimitri, already sensing the reproach, stood up and met the guy half way.

"Do something," the redhead said, gesturing at Alana. "She's getting colder by the second."

Dimitri looked at the redhead and then Alana. His mind immediately pieced together what had happened and what was demanded of him. He ran a hand through his white hair. "What can I do? This is destiny. Maidens all have to go back from where they came. Alana is no exception. Now that Kingdom Hearts has been destroyed, her heart will be the starting block. From there it will rebuild itself."

The redhead put Alana down. "This is your fault, Dimitri," he stated, gritting his teeth. "So you better find some way to take care of it!"

"If I recall correctly, it was Ansem's fault. He started the damaged done to Kingdom Hearts." He turned his back on him, walking away. "So don't blame me for you petty problems."

Dimitri halted when he felt a chakram pressing right against his neck. He turned around and saw that a small upside down purple triangle had appeared under one of the redhead's eyes. Dimitri narrowed his eyes. "So who are you? The Nobody Axel or Ale?"

The redhead glared icily at the young man. "Does it matter?! You're not going anywhere until you tell me how to save her!"

Dimitri rubbed his temples, feeling annoyed and angry. "We could have tried to substitute her heart for another. But all the Heartless were destroyed. She wouldn't be in this situation if she didn't have to save you or Myde. Just keep that in mind before you yell at me!"

"If you hadn't helped Artemis in the first place--!"

"I wouldn't be here right now if Alana hadn't met you and the Organization!" Dimitri saw the look on the redhead's face and knew he had touched a very sensitive topic. And that was what satisfied him, that he had gotten the last word.

Payge took a step forward. "Excuse me." They both shot her a glare, almost warning her not to cut in. She could tell that the redhead had given up using words and wanted to use fists. Payge didn't want to see a brawl between these two guys and so she took another step forward. Then she reached out of pocket and pulled out a vial. "Would this help?"

Dimitri walked over and snatched it. He looked at Gear. "I forgot to ask you. Did you destroy the vials in the storage room?"

Gear snorted. "I wasn't going to but yeah, I did."

"Were any hearts released?"

"Yeah but why--!" Gear watched Dimitri throw the vial on the ground, successfully breaking it. Soon, a heart rose and came out.

Dimitri's golden eyes landed Alana. Then his gaze switched to the redhead. "We'll wait and see what happens."

* * *

Alana opened her eyes and saw the blue night sky overhead. There were many stars, stars that she hadn't seen since her arrival in Sunsetville. The moon was amongst them, replacing Kingdom Hearts. She sat up and saw a redhead standing above her. " . . ." She didn't know whether to say Axel or Ale because he was in the moonlight. But then she felt him embraced her tightly.

"You're back." He pulled away.

Alana noticed the facial marking and the Organization coat were still present despite that the hair was spiked up. Her mouth parted but she didn't know what to say. Was he still a Nobody or was he whole?

Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"You can call him Ale, Alana."

Alana looked around and saw Myde waving at her. Then she saw everyone else around them. Sora was smirking and Riku folded his arms. The King beamed while Goofy and Donald cheered. Payge jumped for joy. Gear, Dimitri, Zees, and Tiffany seemed more reserved. However, they gave small gestures of acknowledgment.

"I'm actually here?" She said aloud. She looked back at Ale. "You're here, too."

"You messed up the process, though," Dimitri interrupted. "Myde and Ale both retained their memories In addition, Ale still has his Nobody powers. You know that isn't how it's suppose to be. Something tells me you might have allowed Myde to keep his memories. But I think you wanted to get rid of Ale's for substantial reasons." Dimitri saw the glare she shot in his direction and knew he had pinpointed something, probably the latter. He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's only a hypothesis. I have no way of proving it."

Alana watched as Dimitri walked away. _After all this time, he still can see through me._

"Come on, Gear," Dimitri said. "We're going to Twilight Town. If my lab is still intact, I can try to cure you."

Gear frowned. "There's a cure?"

"If I find one." Dimitri stopped and looked at Tiffany. Their eyes met and Dimitri quickly averted his gaze. He then looked up at the sky, trying to find plausible words. "Tiff . . . I might need some assistance. So I would appreciate it if you could come with me just in case." There. He said it. Maybe not straightforward as he had imagined but the meaning was generally the same.

Tiffany stared before giggling. "Yeah. Since you _might _need my help."

The three of them, Dimitri, Tiffany, and Gear, headed into Sunsetville.

Sora grinned and placed his arms behind his head, a classic pose for him. "I guess we're going back to Destiny Islands, Riku."

His childhood friend nodded. "Yeah." Riku looked back at Donald and Goofy. "You're coming to the island?"

"Yup!" Goofy said. Donald nodded.

Zees looked at Payge and Myde who were holding each other. "I suppose the rest of you are going back to Radiant Garden."

Myde held Payge tighter. "That's the plan."

Zees scratched his head. "Do you mind if I come on the Gummi Ship as well? I haven't been home for a while now."

"Sure," Myde said immediately. Payge smiled, seeing that Myde was the most easily forgiving of the group. She had noticed the horrified look on Donald's face. It was probably idea of being in the same vessel with Zees that bugged the duck.

Payge looked at the blonde. She couldn't wait to be in Radiant Garden with him. It was something that she had been looking forward to since he mentioned it yesterday. After everything that had happened to them, yesterday now seemed so unreal, so far away from them right now. Now she was sure she could live happily without a worry in the world about the future because she knew that there would be one person with her. Myde nuzzled her neck and she blushed when Zees gave her a scrutinizing look. It was then that she took a glance at Ale and Alana sitting on the ground.

The two had been waiting in silence as their eyes sought outs words and answers in the stars. Ale wanted to speak but knew that Alana had something on her mind. So he waited for he to break the silence. After another minute, Alana finally did.

"I'm sorry. I almost broke my promise."

Ale placed his hand over hers. Alana looked at him and Ale couldn't help but smirk at her confusion. He leaned closer to her and his emerald eyes bored into hers. "You don't need to be. You're here, right?" The redhead kissed her on the lips, realizing that they had all the time in the world as of now. He pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I love you," Alana whispered.

He squeezed her hand. "I love you, too."

**A/N: So the broken promise referred to the one Axel forced Alana to make this chapter, not the one made in Chapter 14. I almost considered killing off another character like Alana or Dimitri. However, I realized that would be too evil considering the previous story and I wanted this one to end on a happy note. Also, thanks to halfdemon-kai for reviewing the last chapter and thanks to those who took the time to read this story to the end. And so the story ends with an epilogue. Just to let you know, Gear's real name is Max.**


	19. Epilogue

**RUDE AWAKENING**

**:EPILOGUE:**

_Dear Myde,_

_To think that you used to perform at Radiant Garden's only hang out. Now you're on a tour, visiting every single place we use to read about in college history courses. It's been a while since we've seen you and Payge, about a month already? A month and a half? You missed so many of the little things here in Radiant Garden._

_I mean I saw my godson the other day. Tiffany and Dimitri came by with him. You know, Dimitri is a different person when he's with his son. He actually cracks a smile and plays all sorts of games. Zees agrees with me too. He was surprised that Tiffany was pregnant again, even more surprised than when he had found out that Dimitri and Tiffany were getting married five years ago. Remember how we all thought Tiffany was joking when she told us that Dimitri had propose to her? Well everyone except for Payge. She knew it all along. That's why I told you to let her become your manager. She's smart and makes good decisions. It's been showing in the Melodious Nocturnes' success. I glad you know that you have someone really special in your life._

_As for Zees, him and Max are like brothers. Though Max is often reading that book, _Advanced Sciences and Mathematical Studies Throughout History, Volume Nine_, they still spend time together. Their personalities are very conflicting but I suspect that Max secretly looks up to Zees for advice, especially for his growing interest in girls. I suppose Zees might be able to help the kid. He's still a bachelor but he has dated so many women, he definitely has tons of tips to share. Just yesterday, he broke up with his girlfriend. He said that it wasn't going to work out with her and that he was better off waiting for a girl to come to him. Ironically, that same day, a girl ran into him. All the books she had dropped, he helped to pick them up. Tonight, he's going out on a date with her. Maybe he does have some luck after all._

_Sora, Kairi, and Riku came by recently. Sora's son is like a mini-Sora. He already swings around a wooden sword and challenges Riku's daughter despite how badly he lost in the previous fight. Kairi said it's like how Riku used to beat Sora in practically everything. _

_We also saw the King, Donald, and Goofy. They wanted to see if it's true, about me going to be a mother. I still haven't gotten use to the idea. You think after two years of being married--_

Alana stopped in mid sentence when Ale wrapped his arms around him. "I'm finished downstairs."

Alana quirked an eyebrow and gazed into his emerald irises. "You mean the so-called romantic dinner you've been preparing since three o'clock?"

"What else?"

Three hours ago, Ale had sent his wife into their bedroom, telling her not to come down until he called her. To pass the time, Alana had been watching TV and reading until she had decided to reply to Myde's letter.

Her slate eyes glanced down at the letter. Hoping that she would still have her train of thought when she returned to finished it tonight, if she had time tonight, she stood and allowed her husband to lead her downstairs. In the downstairs area, every light had been put off. She could barely see as the couple made their way to the diningroom.

"Ale, I can't see anything."

The redhead smirked in the darkness and the candles in the room caught fire.

Alana gasped when she saw the white tablecloth with the rose petals all over it and the meal that Ale had prepared. "It's wonderful," she whispered.

"Happy Anniversary, Alana."

**The End**


End file.
